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littp://www.arcliive.org/details/soutliamericanfigOObrad 



South American Fights & Fighters 
And Other Tales of Adventure 




" The Poor Little Governor . . . Distanced His Fierce Pursuers 
at Last " (See page 26.) 



AMERICAN FIGHTS AND FIGHTERS SERIES 



South American 
Fights and Fighters 

AND OTHER 
TALES OF ADVENTURE 

BY 
CYRUS TOWNSEND BRADY, LL. D. 




ILLUSTRATIONS BY 

SEYMOUR M. STONE, GEORGE GIBBS, W. J. AYLWARD 
AND J. N. MARCHAND 

TOGETHER WITH REPRODUCTIONS FROM 
OLD PRINTS AND PORTRAITS 



NEW YORK 

DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 

1910 



AU. KK-HTJ KESEKVXP, INCirDIKC. THAT OT TRANSIATION 
INTO rORElOX LAXOUAGFS, INCXVPIKG THE SOASPINAVIAN 



COPYKIC.HT, IpIO, BY rHM'FIJB.rAY. PAOV & a^MPAKV 
PCBLISHEI>. ATKIL, Igio 



CC!,A2GiiOO 



To 
George William Beatty 

Good Fellow, Good Citizen 
Good Friend 



PREFACE 

The first part of this new volume of the American 
Fights and Fighters Series needs no special intro- 
duction. Partly to make this the same size as the 
other books, but more particularly because I espec- 
ially desired to give a permanent place to some of the 
most dramatic and interesting episodes in our history 
— especially as most of them related to the Pacific and 
the Far West — the series of papers in part second 
was included. 

"The Yarn of the Essex, Whaler" is abridged from 
a quaint account written by the Mate and published 
in an old volume which is long since out of print 
and very scarce. The papers on the Tonquin, John 
Paul Jones, and "The Great American Duellists" 
speak for themselves. The account of the battle of 
the Pitt River has never been published in book form 
heretofore. The last paper "On Being a Boy Out 
West" I inserted because I enjoy it myself, and because 
I have found that others young and old who have 
read it generally like it also. 

Thanks are due and are hereby extended to the 
following magazines for permission to republish vari- 

vii 



viii South American Fights and Fighters 

ous articles which originally appeared in their pages: 
Harper s, Munseys, The Cosmo polttan. Sunset and 
The Ne-iv Era. 

I project another volume of the Series supplementing 
the two Indian volumes immediately preceding this 
one, but the information is hard to get, and the work 
amid many other demands upon my time, proceeds 
slowly. 

Cyrus Townsend Brady. 
St. George's Rectory, 
Kansas City, Mo., February, 1910. 



CONTENTS 

Part I 
SOUTH AMERICAN FIGHTS AND FIGHTERS 

PAGE 

PANAMA AND THE KNIGHTS-ERRANT OF COLONIZATION 

I. The Spanish Main 3 

II. The Don Quixote of Discoverers and His Rival . . 5 

III. The Adventures of Ojeda 10 

IV. Enter One Vasco Nunez de Balboa 17 

V. The Desperate Straits of Nicuesa 20 

PANAMA, BALBOA AND A FORGOTTEN ROMANCE 

I. The Coming of the Devastator 31 

II. The Greatest Exploit Since Columbus's Voyage ... 34 

III. "Furor Domini" 42 

IV. The End of Balboa 44 

PERU AND THE PIZARROS 

I. The Chief Scion of a Famous Family 53 

II. The Terrible Persistence of Pizaxro 57 

III. "A Communistic Despotism" 68 

IV. The Treacherous and Bloody Massacre of Caxa- 

marca 73 

V. The Ransom and Murder of the Inca 85 

VI. The Inca and the Peruvians Strike Vainly for Free- 
dom 93 

VII. "The Men of Chili" and the Civil Wars 102 

VIII. The Mean End of the Great Conquistador .... 105 

IX. The Last of the Brethren 108 

THE GREATEST ADVENTURE IN HISTORY 

I. The Chief of all the Soldiers of Fortune .... 1x5 

II. The Expedition to Mexico 120 

III. The Religion of the Aztecs 125 

ix 



X South American Fights and Fighters 

PAGE 

IV. The March to Tenochtitlan 130 

V. The Republic of Tlascala 138 

VI. Cortes's Description of Mexico 147 

VII. The Meeting with Montezuma . . .' 162 

VIII. The Seizure of the Emperor 171 

IX. The Revolt of the Capital 174 

X. In God's Way 177 

XI. The Melancholy Night 182 

XII. The Siege and Destruction of Mexico 194 

XIII. A Day of Desperate Fighting 198 

XIV. The Last Mexican 215 

XV. The End of Cortes 218 

Part II 

OTHER TALES OF ADVENTURE 

THE YARN OF THE "ESSEX," WHALER 231 

SOME FAMOUS AMERICAN DUELS 245 

I. A Tragedy of Old New York 246 

II. Andrew Jackson as a Duellist 248 

III. The Killing of Stephen Decatur ........ 251 

IV. An Episode in the Life of James Bowie 252 

V. A Famous Congressional Duel 254 

VI. The Last Notable Duel in America . 256 

THE CRUISE OF THE " TONQUIN " 261 

JOHN PAUL JONES 281 

I. The Birth of the American Navy 283 

II. Jones First Hoists the Stars and Stripes 284 

III. The Battle with the "Serapis" . . 285 

IV. A Hero's Famous Sayings 287 

V. What Jones Did for His Country 288 

VI. Why Did He Take the Name of Jones 289 

VII. A Search for Historical Evidence i . 292 

VIII. The Joneses of North Carolina ........ 296 

IX. Paul Jones Never a Man of Wealth 297 

IN THE CAVERNS OF THE PITT 301 

BEING A BOY OUT WEST 315 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

"The Poor Little Governor . . . Distanced His Fierce 

Pursuers at Last Frontispiece ^ 

Drawing by Seymour M. Stoae 

FACING PAGE 

"OjEDA Galloped Off With His ... Captive!" . . 6 

Drawing by Seymour M. Stone 

"The Indians Poured A Rain OF Poisoned Arrows" . 12. 

Drawing by Seymour M. Stone 

" Balboa , . . Engaged in' Superintending the Roofing 

of a House" 34 

Drawing by George Gibbs 

"The Expedition Had to Fight Its Way Through 

Trjbes of Warlike and Ferocious Mountaineers" . 38 

Drawing by George Gibbs 

"He Took Possession of the Sea in the Name of 

Castile and Leon " 40 

Drawing by George Gibbs ' 

" He Threw the Sacred Volume to the Ground in a 

Violent Rage " 80 

Drawing by George Gibbs 

"They Burst Upon the Ranks of the Unarmed Indians" 86 

Drawing by George Gibbs 

" The Three PizARRos . . . Sallied Out to Meet Them" 96 

Drawing by George Gibbs 

"He Threw His Sole Remaining Weapon in the Faces 

of the escaladers " 102 

Drawing by George Gibbs 

Fernando Cortes ii6 

From a picture in the Florence Gallery 



Illustrations 



FACING PAGE 

The Death of Montezuma 178 

From an old engraving 

" He Defended Himself With His Terrible Spear " . 208 

Drawing by George Gibbs 

"The Ship Came TO A Dead Stop" 234 

Drawing by W. J. Aylward 

The Killing of Alexander Hamilton by Aaron Burr . 248 

Drawing by J. N. Marchand 

Commander Paul Jones Capturing the " Serapis " . , 286 

From the picture by Chappel. 

The publishers wish to acknowledge their indebtedness to The Cosmopol- 
itan Magazine and Munsey's Magazine for permission to use several of the 
illustrations in this volume. 



Part I 

SOUTH AMERICAN FIGHTS 
AND FIGHTERS 

I 

Panama and the Knights-Errant of Colonization 



Panama and the Knights-Errant of 
Colonization 

I. The Spanish Main 

ONE of the commonly misunderstood phrases 
in the language is "the Spanish Main." 
To the ordinary individual it suggests the 
Caribbean Sea. Although Shakespeare in "Othello/* 
makes one of the gentlemen of Cyprus say that 
he "cannot 'twixt heaven and main descry a sail," 
and, therefore, with other poets, gives warrant to the 
application of the word to the ocean, "main" really 
refers to the other element. The Spanish Main was 
that portion of South American territory distinguished 
from Cuba, Hispaniola and the other islands, because 
it was on the main land. 

When the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea 
were a Spanish lake, the whole circle of territory, 
bordering thereon was the Spanish Main, but of late 
the title has been restricted to Central and South 
America. The buccaneers are those who made it 
famous. So the word brings up white-hot stories of 
battle, murder and sudden death. 

The history of the Spanish Main begins in 1509, 
with the voyages of Ojeda and Nicuesa, which were 
the first definite and authorized attempts to colonize 
the mainland of South America. 

The honor of being the first of the fifteenth-century 



4 South American Fights and Fighters 

navigators to set foot upon either of the two American 
continents, indisputably belongs to John Cabot, on 
June 24, 1497. Who was next to make a continental 
landfall, and in the more southerly latitudes, is a 
question which lies between Columbus and Amerigo 
Vespucci. 

Fiske, in a very convincing argument awards the 
honor to Vespucci, whose first voyage (May 1497 to 
October 1498) carried him from the north coast of 
Honduras along the Gulf coast around Florida, and 
possibly as far north as the Chesapeake Bay, and to 
the Bahamas on his return. 

Markham scouts this claim. Winsor neither agrees 
nor dissents. His verdict in the case is a Scottish one, 
"Not proven." Who shall decide when the doctors 
disagree ? Let every one choose for himself. As for 
me, I am inclined to agree with Fiske. 

If it were not Vespucci, it certainly was Columbus 
on his third voyage (1498-1500). On this voyage, the 
chief of the navigators struck the South American 
shore off the mouth of the Orinoco and sailed westward 
along it for a short distance before turning to the north- 
ward. There he found so many pearls that he called 
it the "Pearl Coast." It is interesting to note that, 
however the question may be decided, all the honors 
go to Italy. Columbus was a Genoese. Cabot, 
although born in Genoa, had lived many years in Venice 
and had been made a citizen there; while Vespucci 
was a Florentine. . 

The first important expedition along the northern 
coast of South America was that of Ojeda in 1499-1500, 
in company with Juan de la Cosa, next to Columbus 
the most expert navigator and pilot of the age, and 
Vespucci, perhaps his equal in nautical science as he 



Panama and the Knights-Errant 5 

was his superior in other departments of poHte learning. 
There were several other explorations of the Gulf 
coast, and its continuations on every side, during the 
same year, by one of the Pizons, who had accompanied 
Columbus on his first voyage; by Lepe; by Cabral, a 
Portuguese, and by Bastidas and La Cosa, who went 
for the first time as far to the westward as Porto Rico on 
the Isthmus of Darien. 

On the fourth and last voyage of Columbus, he 
reached Honduras and thence sailed eastward and 
southward to the Gulf of Darien, having not the 
least idea that the shore line which he called Veragua 
was in fact the border of the famous Isthmus of Panama. 
There were a number of other voyages, including a 
further exploration by La Cosa and Vespucci, and a 
second by Ojeda in which an abortive attempt was 
made to found a colony; but most of the voyages were 
mere trading expeditions, slave-hunting enterprises 
or searches, generally fruitless, for gold and pearls. 
Ojeda reported after one of these voyages that the 
English were on the coast. Who these English were 
is unknown. The news, however, was sufficiently 
disquieting to Ferdinand,^^ the Catholic — and also 
the Crafty! — who now ruled alone in Spain, and he 
determined to frustrate any possible English movement 
by planting colonies on the Spanish Main. 

II. The Don Quixote of Discoveries and His Rival 

Instantly two claimants for the honor of leading 
such an expedition presented themselves. The first 
Alonzo de Ojeda, the other Diego de Nicuesa. Two 
more extraordinary characters never went knight- 
erranting upon the seas. Ojeda was one of the pro- 



6 South American Fights and Fighters 

digious men of a time which was fertile in notable 
characters. Although small in stature, he was a man 
of phenomenal strength and vigor. He could stand at 
the foot of the Giralda in Seville and throw an orange 
over it, a distance of two hundred and fifty feet from 
the earth!* 

Wishing to show his contempt for danger, on one 
occasion he ran out on a narrow beam projecting some 
twenty feet from the top of the same tower and there, 
in full view of Queen Isabella and her court, performed 
various gymnastic exercises, such as standing on one 
leg, et cetera^ for the edification of the spectators, return- 
ing calmly and composedly to the tower when he had 
finished the exhibition. 

He was a magnificent horseman, an accomplished 
knight and an able soldier. There was no limit to his 
daring. He went with Columbus on his second voyage, 
and, single-handed, effected the capture of a powerful 
Indian cacique named Caonabo, by a mixture of 
adroitness, audacity and courage. 

Professing amity, he got access to the Indian, and, 
exhibiting some polished manacles, which he declared 
were badges of royalty, he offered to put them on the 
fierce but unsophisticated savage and then mount the 
chief on his own horse to show him off like a Spanish 
monarch to his subjects. The daring programme was 
carried out just exactly as it had been planned. 
When Ojeda had got the forest king safely fettered 
and mounted on his horse, he sprang up behind him, 
held him there firmly in spite of his efforts, and galloped 
off to Columbus wiith his astonished and disgusted 
captive. 

*At least, the assertion is gravely made by the ancient chroniclers. I wonder 

what kind of an outfielder he would have made today. 




*' Ojeda Galloped Off with His Astonished Captive " 



Panama and the Knights-Errant 7 

Neither of the voyages was successful. With all 
of his personal prowess, he was an unsuccessful admin- 
istrator. He was poor, not to say penniless. He had 
two powerful friends, however. One was Bishop 
Fonseca, who was charged with the administration of 
affairs in the Indies, and the other was stout old Juan 
de la Cosa. These two men made a very efficient 
combination at the Spanish court, especially as La 
Cosa had some money and was quite willing to put it 
up, a prime requisite for the mercenary and niggardly 
Ferdinand's favor. 

The other claimant for the honor of leading the 
colony happened to be another man small in stature, 
but also of great bodily strength, although he scarcely 
equalled his rival in that particular. Nicuesa had made 
a successful voyage to the Indies with Ovando, and had 
ample command of means. He was a gentleman by 
birth and station — Ojeda was that also — and was 
grand carver-in-chief to the King's uncle! Among 
his other qualities for successful colonization were a 
beautiful voice, a masterly touch on the guitar and an 
exquisite skill in equitation. He had even taught his 
horse to keep time to music. Whether or not he played 
that music himself on the back of the performing steed 
is not recorded. 

Ferdinand was unable to decide between the rival 
claimants. Finally he determined to send out two 
expeditions. The Gulf of Uraba, now called the Gulf 
of Darien, was to be the dividing line between the two 
allotments of territory. Ojeda was to have that portion 
extending from the Gulf to the Cape de la Vela, which 
is just west of the Gulf of Venezuela. This territory 
was named new Andalusia. Nicuesa was to take that 
between the Gulf and the Cape Gracias a Dios off 



8 South American Fights and Fighters 

Honduras. This section was denominated Golden Cas- 
tile. Each governor was to fit out his expedition at 
his own charges. Jamaica was given to both in 
common as a point of departure and a base of 
supplies. 

The resources of Ojeda were small, but when he 
arrived at Santo Domingo with what he had been able 
to secure in the way of ships and men, he succeeded 
in inducing a lawyer named Encisco, commonly called 
the Bachelor* Encisco, to embark his fortune of several 
thousand gold castellanos, which he had gained in 
successful pleadings in the court in the litigious West 
Indies, in the enterprise. In it he was given a high 
position, something like that of District Judge. 

With this reenforcement, Ojeda and La Cosa equipped 
two small ships and two brigantines containing three 
hundred men and twelve horses. t 

They were greatly chagrined when the imposing 
armada of Nicuesa, comprising four ships of different 
sizes, but much larger than any of Ojeda's, and two 
brigantines carrying seven hundred and fifty men, 
sailed into the harbor of Santo Domingo. 

The two governors immediately began to quarrel. 
Ojeda finally challenged Nicuesa to a duel which 
should determine the whole affair. Nicuesa, who 
had everything to lose and nothing to gain by fighting, 
but who could not well decline the challenge, said that 
he was willing to fight him if Ojeda would put up what 
would popularly be known to-day in the pugilistic 

*From the Spanish word "bachiller," referring to an inferior degree in the legal 
profession. 

tin the absence of particular information, I suppose the ships to be small cara- 
vels of between fifty and sixty tons, and the brigantines much smaller, open, flat- 
bottomed boats with but one mast — although a modern brigantine is a two-masted 
vessel. 



Panama and the Knights-Errant 9 

circles as "a side bet" of five thousand castellanos to 
make the fight worth while. "^^ 

Poor Ojeda could not raise another maravedi, and as 
nobody would stake him, the duel was off. Diego 
Columbus, governor of Hispaniola, also interfered 
in the game to a certain extent by declaring that the 
Island of Jamaica was his, and that he would not allow 
anybody to make use of it. He sent there one Juan 
de Esquivel, with a party of men to take possession 
of it. Whereupon Ojeda stoutly declared that when 
he had time he would stop at that island and if Esquivel 
were there, he would cut off his head. 

Finally on the loth of November, 1509, Ojeda set 
sail, leaving Encisco to bring after him another ship 
with needed supplies. With Ojeda was Francisco 
Pizarro, a middle-aged soldier of fortune, who had 
not hitherto distinguished himself in any way. Her- 
nando Cortez was to have gone along also, but 
fortunately for him, an inflammation of the knee kept 
him at home. Ojeda was in such a hurry to get to 
El Dorado — for it was in the territory to the south- 
ward of his allotment, that the mysterious city was 
supposed to be located — that he did not stop at 
Jamaica to take off Esquivel's head — a good thing 
for him, as it subsequently turned out. 

Nicuesa would have followed Ojeda immediately, 
but his prodigal generosity had exhausted even his 
large resources, and he was detained by clamorous 
creditors, the law of the island being that no one could 
leave it in debt. The gallant little meat-carver labored 
with success to settle various suits pending, and thought 

*The castellano was valued at two dollars and fifty-six cents, but the purchasing 
power of that sum was much greater then than now. The maravedi was the 
eauivalent of about one-third of a cent. 



lo South American Fights and Fighters 

he had everything compounded; but just as he was 
about to sail he was arrested for another debt of five 
hundred ducats. A friend at last advanced the money 
for him and he got away ten days after Ojeda. It 
would have been a good thing if no friend had ever 
interfered and he had been detained indefinitely at 
Hispaniola. 

III. The Adventures of Ojeda 

Ojeda made a landfall at what is known now as 
Cartagena. It was not a particularly good place for 
a settlement. There was no reason on earth why 
they should stay there at all. La Cosa, who had been 
along the coast several times and knew it thoroughly, 
warned his youthful captain — to whom he was blindly 
and devotedly attached, by the way — that the place 
was extremely dangerous; that the inhabitants were 
fierce, brave and warlike, and that they had a weapon 
almost as effectual as the Spanish guns. That was 
the poisoned arrow. Ojeda thought he knew every- 
thing and he turned a deaf ear to all remonstrances. 
He hoped he might chance upon an opportunity of 
surprising an Indian village and capturing a lot of 
inoffensive inhabitants for slaves, already a very profit- 
able part of voyaging to the Indies. 

He landed without much difficulty, assembled the 
natives and read to them a perfectly absurd mani- 
festo, which had been prepared in Spain for use in 
similar contingencies, summoning them to change 
their religion and to acknowledge the supremacy of 
Spain. Not one word of this did the natives under- 
stand and to it they responded with a volley of poisoned 
arrows. The Spanish considered this paper a most 



Panama and the Knights-Errant 1 1 

valuable document, and always went through the 
formality of having the publication of it attested by 
a notary public. 

Ojeda seized some seventy-five captives, male and 
female, as slaves. They were sent on board the ships. 
The Indian warriors, infuriated beyond measure, now 
attacked in earnest the shore party, comprising seventy 
men, among whom were Ojeda and La Cosa. The 
latter, unable to prevent him, had considered it proper 
to go ashore with the hot-headed governor to restrain 
him so far as was possible. Ojeda impetuously attacked 
the Indians and, with part of his men, pursued them 
several miles inland to their town, of which he took 
possession. 

The savages, in constantly increasing numbers, 
clustered around the town and attacked the Spaniards 
with terrible persistence. Ojeda and his followers 
took refuge in huts and enclosures and fought valiantly. 
Finally all were killed, or fatally wounded by the 
envenomed darts except Ojeda himself and a few men, 
who retreated to a small palisaded enclosure. Into 
this improvised fort the Indians poured a rain of 
poisoned arrows which soon struck down every one 
but the governor himself. Being small of stature and 
extremely agile, and being provided with a large target 
or shield, he was able successfully to fend off the 
deadly arrows from his person. It was only a question 
of time before the Indians would get him and he would 
die in the frightful agony which his men experienced 
after being infected with the poison upon the arrow- 
points. In his extremity, he was rescued by La Cosa 
who had kept in hand a moiety of the shore party. 

The advent of La Cosa saved Ojeda. Infuriated 
at the slaughter of his men, Ojeda rashly and intern- 



12 South American Fights and Fighters 

perately threw himself upon the savages, at once 
disappearing from the view of La Cosa and his men, 
who were soon surrounded and engaged in a desperate 
battle on their own account. They, too, took refuge 
in the building, from which they were forced to tear 
away the thatched roof that might have shielded them 
from the poisoned arrows, in fear lest the Indians 
might set it on fire. And they in turn were also reduced 
to the direst of straits. One after another was killed, 
and finally La Cosa himself, who had been desperately 
wounded before, received a mortal hurt; while but one 
man remained on his feet. 

Possibly thinking that they had killed the whole 
party, and withdrawing to turn their attention to Ojeda, 
furiously ranging the forest alone, the Indians left 
the two surviving Spaniards unmolested, whereupon 
the dying La Cosa bade his comrade leave him, and 
if possible get word to Ojeda of the fate which had 
overtaken him. This man succeeded in getting back 
to the shore and apprised the men there of the 
frightful disaster. 

The ships cruised along the shore, sending parties 
into the bay at different points looking for Ojeda and 
any others who might have survived. A day or two 
after the battle they came across their unfortunate 
commander. He was lying on his back in a grove 
of mangroves, upheld from the water by the gnarled 
and twisted roots of one of the huge trees. He had 
his naked sword in his hand and his target on his arm, 
but he was completely prostrated and speechless. The 
men took him to a fire, revived him and finally brought 
him back to the ship. 

Marvelous to relate, he had not a single wound 
upon him! 




'The Indians Poured a Rain of Poisoned Arrows " 



Panama and the Knights-Errant 13 

Great was the grief of the little squadron at this 
dolorous state of affairs. In the middle of it, the 
ships of Nicuesa hove in sight. Mindful of their 
previous quarrels, Ojeda decided to stay ashore until 
he found out what were Nicuesa's intentions toward 
him. Cautiously his men broke the news to Nicuesa. 
With magnanimity and courtesy delightful to con- 
template, he at once declared that he had forgotten 
the quarrel and offered every assistance to Ojeda to 
enable him to avenge himself. Ojeda thereupon 
rejoined the squadron, and the two rivals embraced 
with many protestations of friendship amid the acclaim 
of their followers. 

The next night, four hundred men were secretly 
assembled. They landed and marched to the Indian 
town, surrounded it and put it to the flames. The 
defenders fought with their usual resolution, and 
many of the Spaniards were killed by the poisonous 
arrows, but to no avail. The Indians were doomed, 
and the whole village perished then and there. 

Nicuesa had landed some of his horses, and such was 
the terror inspired by those remarkable and unknown 
animals that several of the women who had escaped 
from the fire, when they caught sight of the frightful 
monsters, rushed back into the flames, preferring 
this horrible death rather than to meet the horses. 
The value of the plunder amounted to eighteen thou- 
sand dollars in modern money, the most of which 
Nicuesa took. 

The two adventurers separated, Nicuesa bidding 
Ojeda farewell and striking boldly across the Carib- 
bean for Veragua, which was the name Columbus 
had given to the Isthmian coast below Honduras; 
while Ojeda crept along the shore seeking a convenient 



14 South American Fights and Fighters 

spot to plant his colony. Finally he established him- 
self at a place which he named San Sebastian. One 
of his ships was wrecked and many of his men were 
lost. Another was sent back to Santo Domingo with 
what little treasure they had gathered and with an 
appeal to Encisco to hurry up. 

They made a rude fort on the shore, from which to 
prosecute their search for gold and slaves. The 
Indians, who also belonged to the poisoned-arrow fra- 
ternity, kept the fort in constant anxiety. Many 
were the conflicts between the Spaniards and the 
savages, and terrible were the losses inflicted by the 
invaders; but there seemed to be no limit to the number 
of Indians, while every Spaniard killed was a serious 
drain upon the little party. Man after man succumbed 
to the effects of the dreadful poison. Ojeda, who 
never spared himself in any way, never received a 
wound. 

From their constant fighting, the savages got to 
recognize him as the leader and they used all their 
skill to compass destruction. Finally, they succeeded 
in decoying him into an ambush where four of their 
best men had been posted. Recklessly exposing them- 
selves, the Indians at close range opened fire upon 
their prisoner with arrows. Three of the arrows he 
caught on his buckler, but the fourth pierced his thigh. 
It is surmised that Ojeda attended to the four Indians 
before taking cognizance of his wound. The arrow, 
of course, was poisoned, and unless something could 
be done, it meant death. 

He resorted to a truly heroic expedient. He caused 
two iron plates to be heated white-hot and then directed 
the surgeon to apply the plates to the wound, one at 
the entrance and the other at the exit of the arrow. 



Panama and the Knights-Errant 15 

The surgeon, appalled by the idea of such torture, 
refused to do so, and it was not until Ojeda threatened 
to hang him with his own hands that he consented. 
Ojeda bore the frightful agony without a murmur or 
a quiver, such was his extraordinary endurance. It 
was the custom in that day to bind patients who were 
operated upon surgically, that their involuntary move- 
ments might not disconcert the doctors and cause 
them to wound where they hoped to cure, Ojeda 
refused even to be bound. The remedy was effica- 
cious, although the heat of the iron, in the language 
of the ancient chronicler, so entered his system that 
they used a barrel of vinegar to cool him off. 

Ojeda was very much dejected by the fact that he 
had been wounded. It seemed to him that the Virgin, 
his patron, had deserted him. The little band, by 
this time reduced to less than one hundred people, 
was in desperate straits. Starvation stared it in the 
face when fortunately assistance came. One Ber- 
nardino deTalavera, with seventy congenial cut-throats, 
absconding debtors and escaped criminals, from 
Hispaniola, had seized a Genoese trading-ship loaded 
with provisions and had luckily reached San Sebastian 
in her. They sold these provisions to Ojeda and his 
men at exorbitant prices, for some of the hard-earned 
treasure which they had amassed with their great 
expenditure of life and health. 

There was no place else for Talavera and his gang 
to go, so they stayed at San Sebastian. The supply 
of provisions was soon exhausted, and finally it was 
evident that, as Encisco had not appeared with any 
reenforcements or supplies, some one must go back to 
Hispaniola to bring rescue to the party. Ojeda offered 
to do this himself. Giving the charge of affairs at 



1 6 South American Fights and Fighters 

San Sebastian to Francisco Pizarro, who promised to 
remain there for fifty days for the expected help, 
he embarked with Talavera. 

Naturally Ojeda considered himself in charge of 
the ship; naturally Talavera did not. Ojeda, endeav- 
oring to direct things, was seized and put in chains 
by the crew. He promptly challenged the whole 
crew to a duel, offering to fight them two at a time 
in succession until he had gone through the ship, of 
which he expected thereby to become the master; 
although what he would have done with seventy dead 
pirates on the ship is hard to see. The men refused 
this wager of battle, but fortune favored this doughty 
little cavalier, for presently a great storm arose. As 
neither Talavera nor any of the men were navigators 
or seamen, they had to release Ojeda. He took charge. 
Once he was in charge, they never succeeded in ousting 
him. 

In spite of his seamanship, the caravel was wrecked 
on the island of Cuba. They were forced to make 
their way along the shore, which was then unsettled 
by Spain. Under the leadership of Ojeda the party 
struggled eastward under conditions of extreme hard- 
ship. When they were most desperate, Ojeda, who 
had appealed daily to his little picture of the Virgin, 
which he always carried with him, and had not ceased 
to urge the others to do likewise, made a vow to 
establish a shrine and leave the picture at the first 
Indian village they came to if they got succor there. 

Sure enough, they did reach a place called Cueya- 
bos, where they were hospitably received by the Indians, 
and where Ojeda, fulfiUing his vow, erected a log hut, 
or shrine, in the recess of which he left, with much 
regret, the picture of the Virgin which had accompanied 



I 



Panama and the Knights-Errant 17 

him on his wanderings and adventures. Means were 
found to send word to Jamaica, still under the gov- 
ernorship of Esquivel, whose head Ojeda had threatened 
to cut off when he met him. Magnanimously forgetting 
the purpose of the broken adventurer, Esquivel des- 
patched a ship to bring him to Jamaica. We may be 
perfectly sure that Ojeda said nothing about the decapi- 
tation when the generous hearted Esquivel received him 
with open arms, Ojeda with Talavera and his com- 
rades were sent back to Santo Domingo. There 
Talavera and the principal men of his crew were tried 
for piracy and executed. 

Ojeda found that Encisco had gone. He was penni- 
less, discredited and thoroughly downcast by his ill 
fortune. No one would advance him anything to 
send succor to San Sebastian. His indomitable 
spirit was at last broken by his misfortunes. He 
lingered for a short time in constantly increasing ill 
health, being taken care of by the good Franciscans, 
until he died in the monastery. Some authorities 
say he became a monk; others deny it; It certainly 
is quite possible. At any rate, before he died he put 
on the habit of the order, and after his death, by his 
own direction, his body was buried before the gate, 
so that those who passed through it would have to step 
over his remains. Such was the tardy humility with 
which he endeavoured to make up for the arrogance 
and pride of his exciting life. 

IV. Enter One Vasco Nunez de Balboa 

Encisco, coasting along the shore with a large ship, 
carrying reenforcements and loaded with provisions 
for the party, easily followed the course of Ojeda's 



1 8 South American Fights and Fighters 

wanderings, and finally ran across the final remnants 
of his expedition in the harbor of Cartagena. The 
remnant was crowded into a single small, unseaworthy 
brigantine under the command of Francisco Pizarro. 

Pizarro had scrupulously kept faith with Ojeda. 
He had done more. He had waited fifty days, and 
then, finding that the two brigantines left to him were 
not large enough to contain his whole party, by mutual 
agreement of the survivors clung to the death-laden 
spot until a sufficient number had been killed or had 
died to enable them to get away in the two ships. They 
did not have to wait long, for death was busy, and a 
few weeks after the expiration of the appointed time 
they were all on board. 

There is something terrific to the imagination in 
the thought of that body of men sitting down and grimly 
waiting until enough of them should die to enable 
the rest to get away! What must have been the emo- 
tions that filled their breasts as the days dragged on ? 
No one knew whether the result of the delay would 
enable him to leave, or cause his bones to rot on the 
shore. Cruel, fierce, implacable as were these Span- 
iards, there is something Homeric about them in such 
crises as these. 

That was not the end of their misfortunes, for one 
of the two brigantines was capsized. The old chron- 
iclers say that the boat was struck by a great fish." 
That is a fish story, which, like most fish stories, it 
is difficult to credit. At any rate, sink it did, with 
all on board, and Pizarro and about thirty men were 
all that were left of the gallant three hundred who 
had followed the doughty Ojeda in the first attempt 
to colonize South America. 

Encisco was for hanging them at once, believing that 



Panama and the Knights-Errant 19 

they had murdered and deserted Ojeda, but they 
were able to convince him at last of the strict legality 
of their proceedings. Taking command of the expe- 
dition himself, as being next in rank to Ojeda, the 
Bachelor led them back to San Sebastian. Unfor- 
tunately, before the unloading of his ship could be 
begun, she struck a rock and was lost; and the last 
state of the men, therefore, was as bad as the first. 

Among the men who had come with Encisco was a 
certain Vasco Nuiiez, commonly called Balboa. He 
had been with Bastidas and La Cosa on their voyage 
to the Isthmus nine years before. The voyage had 
been a profitable one and Balboa had made money 
out of it. He had lost all his money, however, and 
had eked out a scanty living on a farm at Hispaniola, 
which he had been unable to leave because he was 
in debt to everybody. The authorities were very 
strict in searching every vessel that- cleared from Santo 
Domingo, for absconders. The search was usually 
conducted after the vessel had got to sea, too! 

Balboa caused himself to be conveyed aboard the 
ship in a provision cask. No one suspected anything, 
and when the officers of the boat had withdrawn from 
the ship and Hispaniola was well down astern, he 
came forth. Encisco, who was a pettifogger of the 
most pronounced type, would have dealt harshly 
with him, but there was nothing to do after all. Balboa 
could not be sent back, and besides, he was considered 
a very valuable reenforcement on account of his known 
experience and courage. 

' It was he who now came to the rescue of the wretched 
colonists at San Sebastian by telling them that across 
the Gulf of Darien there was an Indian tribe with 
many villages and much gold. Furthermore, these 



20 South American Fights and Fighters 

Indians, unfortunately for them, were not acquainted 
with the use of poisoned arrows. Balboa urged 
them to go there. His suggestion was received with 
cheers. The brigantines, and such other vessels as 
they could construct quickly, were got ready and the 
whole party took advantage of the favorable season 
to cross the Gulf of Darien to the other side, to the 
present territory of Panama which has been so promi- 
nent in the public eye of late. This was Nicuesa's 
domain, but nobody considered that at the time. 

They found the Indian villages which Balboa had 
mentioned, fought a desperate battle with Cacique 
Cemaco, captured the place, and discovered quantities 
of gold castellanos (upward of twenty-live thousand 
dollars). They built a fort, and laid out a town called 
Maria de la Antigua del Darien — the name being almost 
bigger than the town! Balboa was in high favor 
by this time, and when Encisco got into trouble by 
decreeing various oppressive regulations and vexatious 
restrictions, attending to things in general with a high 
hand, they calmly deposed him on the ground that 
he had no authority to act, since they were on the 
territory of Nicuesa. To this logic, which was irrefu- 
table, poor Encisco could make no reply. Pending 
the arrival of Nicuesa they elected Balboa and one 
Zamudio, a Biscayan, to take charge of affairs. 

The time passed in hunting and gathering treasure, 
not unprofitably and, as they had plenty to eat, not 
unpleasantly. 



V. The Desperate Straits of Nicuesa 

Now let us return to Nicuesa. Making a landfall, 
Nicuesa, with a small caravel, attended by the two 



Panama and the Knights-Errant 21 

brigantines, coasted along the shore seeking a favor- 
able point for settlement. The large ships, by his 
orders, kept well out to sea. During a storm, Nicuesa 
put out to sea himself, imagining that the brigantines 
under the charge of Lope de Olano, second in com- 
mand would follow him. When morning broke and 
the storm disappeared there were no signs of the 
ships or brigantines. 

Nicuesa ran along the shore to search for them, got 
himself embayed in the mouth of a small river, swollen 
by recent rains, and upon the sudden subsidence of 
the water coincident with the ebb of the tide, his ship 
took ground, fell over on her bilge and was completely 
wrecked. The men on board barely escaped with 
their lives to the shore. They had saved nothing 
except what they wore, the few arms they carried and 
one small boat. 

Putting Diego de Ribero and three sailors in the 
boat and directing them to coast along the shore, 
Nicuesa with the rest struggled westward in search 
of the two brigantines and the other three ships. They 
toiled through interminable forests and morasses for 
several days, living on what they could pick up in the 
way of roots and grasses, without discovering any signs 
of the missing vessels. Coming to an arm of the sea, 
supposed to be Chiriqui Lagoon off Costa Rica, in 
the course of their journeyings, they decided to cross 
it in a small boat rather than make the long detour 
necessary to get to what they believed to be the other 
side. They were ferried over to the opposite shore 
in the boat, and to their dismay discovered that they 
were upon an almost desert island. 

It was too late and they were too tired, to go /arther 
that night, so they resolved to pass the night on the 



22 South American Fights and Fighters 

island. In the morning they were appalled to find 
that the little boat, with Ribero and the three sailors, 
was gone. They were marooned on a desert island 
with practically nothing to eat and nothing but brackish 
swamp water to drink. The sailors they believed to 
have abandoned them. They gave way to transports 
of despair. Some in their grief threw themselves 
down and died forthwith. Others sought to prolong 
life by eating herbs, roots and the like. 

They were reduced to the condition of wild animals, 
when a sail whitened the horizon, and presently the 
two brigantines dropped anchor near the island. 
Ribero was no recreant. He had been convinced 
that Nicuesa was going farther and farther from the 
ships with every step that he took, and, unable to per- 
suade him of that fact, he deliberately took matters 
into his own hands and retraced his course. The 
event justified his decision, for he soon found the 
brigantines and the other ships. Olano does not 
seem to have bestirred himself very vigorously to seek 
for Nicuesa, perhaps because he hoped to command 
himself; but when Ribero made his report he at once 
made for the island, which he reached just in time 
to save the miserable remnant from dying of starvation. 

As soon as he could command himself, Nicuesa, 
whose easy temper and generous disposition had left 
him under the hardships and misfortunes he had 
sustained, sentenced Olano to death. By the pleas 
of his comrades, the sentence was mitigated, and the 
wretched man was bound in chains and forced to grind 
corn for the rest of the party — when there was any 
to grind. 

To follow Nicuesa's career further would be simply 
to chronicle the story of increasing disaster. He lost 



Panama and the Knights-Errant 23 

ship after ship and man after man. Finally reduced 
in number to one hundred men, one of the sailors, 
which had been with Columbus remembered the loca- 
tion of Porto Rico as being a haven where they might 
establish themselves in a fertile and beautiful country, 
well-watered and healthy. Columbus had left an an- 
chor under the tree to mark the place, and when they 
reached it they found that the anchor had remained 
undisturbed all the years. They were attacked by 
the Indians there, and after losing twenty killed, were 
forced to put to sea in two small brigantines and a 
caravel, which they had made from the wrecks of 
their ships. Coasting along the shore, they came at 
last to an open roadstead where they could debark. 

"In the name of God," said the disheartened Nicuesa, 
"let us stop here." 

There they landed, called the place after their 
leader's exclamation, Nombre de Dios. The caravel, 
with a crew of the strongest, was despatched for succour, 
and was never heard of again. 

One day, the colonists of Antigua were surprised 
by the sound of a cannon shot. They fired their own 
weapons in reply, and soon two ships carrying reen- 
forcements for Nicuesa under Rodrigo de Colmenares, 
dropped anchor in front of the town. 

By this time the colonists had divided into factions, 
some favoring the existing regime, others inclining 
toward the still busy Enpsco, others desirous of putting 
themselves under the command of Nicuesa, whose 
generosity and sunny disposition were still affectionately 
remembered. The arrival of Colmeitiares and his 
party, gave the Nicuesa faction a decided prepon- 
derance; and, taking things in their own hands, they 
determined to despatch one of the ships, with two 



24 South American Fights and Fighters 

representatives of the colony, up the coast in search 
of the governor. This expedition found Nicuesa 
without much difficulty. Again the rescuing ship 
arrived just in time. In a few days more, the miser- 
able body of men, reduced now to less than sixty, 
would have perished of starvation. 

Nicuesa's spirit had not been chastened by his 
unparalleled misfortunes. He not only accepted the 
proffered command of the colony — which was no 
more than his right, since it was established on his 
own territory — but he did more. When he heard 
that the colonists had amassed a great amount of 
gold by trading and thieving, he harshly declared that, 
as they had no legitimate right there, he would take 
their portion for himself; that he would stop further 
enterprises on their part — in short, he boastfully 
declared his intention of carrying things with a high 
hand in a way well calculated to infuriate his volun- 
tary subjects. So arrogant was his bearing and so 
tactless and injudicious his talk, that the envoys from 
Antigua fled in the night with one of the ships and 
reported the situation to the colony. Olano, still in 
chains, found means to communicate with his friends 
in the other party. Naturally he painted the probable 
conduct of the governor in anything but flattering 
colors. 

All this was most impolitic in Nicuesa. He seemed 
to have forgotten that profound political principle 
which suggests that a firm seat in the saddle should be 
acquired before any attempts should be made to lead 
the procession. The fable of " King Stork and the 
Frogs" was applicable to the situation of the colonists. 

In this contingency they did not know quite what 
to do. It was Balboa who came to their rescue again. 



Panama and the Knights-Errant 25 

He suggested that, although they had invited him, 
they need not permit Nicuesa to land. Accordingly, 
when Nicuesa hove in sight in the other ship, full of 
determination to carry things in his own way, they 
prevented him from coming ashore. 

Greatly astonished, he modified his tone somewhat, 
but to no avail. It was finally decided among the 
colonists to allow him to land in order to seize his 
person. Arrangements were made accordingly, and 
the unsuspicious Nicuesa debarked from his ship the 
day after his arrival. He was immediately surrounded 
by a crowd of excited soldiers menacing and threat- 
ening him. It was impossible for him to make head- 
way against them. 

He turned and fled. Among his other guberna- 
torial accomplishments was a remarkable fleetness of 
foot. The poor little governor scampered over the 
sands at a great pace. He distanced his fierce pur- 
suers at last and escaped to the temporary shelter 
of the woods. 

Balboa, a gentleman by birth and by inclination as 
well — who had, according to some accounts, endeav- 
ored to compose the differences between Nicuesa 
and the colonists — was greatly touched and mortified 
at seeing so brave a cavalier reduced to such an undig- 
nified and desperate extremity. He secretly sought 
Nicuesa that night and profferred him his services. 
Then he strove valiantly to bring about an adjustment 
between the fugitive and the brutal soldiery, but in 
vain. 

Nicuesa, abandoning all his pretensions, at last 
begged them to receive him, if not as a governor, at 
least as a companion-at-arms, a volunteer. But noth- 
ing, neither the influence of Balboa nor the entreaties 



26 South American Fights and Fighters 

of Nicuesa, could mitigate the anger of the colonists. 
They would not have the little governor with them on 
any terms. They would have killed him then and 
there, but Balboa, by resorting to harsh measures, 
even causing one man to be flogged for his insolence, 
at last changed that purpose into another — which, 
to be sure, was scarcely less hazardous for Nicuesa. 

He was to be given a ship and sent away forever 
from the Isthmus. Seventeen adherents offered man- 
fully to share his fate. Protesting against the legality 
of the action, appealing to them to give him a chance 
for humanity's sake, poor Nicuesa was hurried aboard 
a small, crazy bark, the weakest of the wretched brig- 
antines in the harbor. This was a boat so carelessly 
constructed that the calking of the seams had been 
done with a blunt iron. With little or no provisions, 
Nicuesa and his faithful seventeen were forced to put 
to sea amid the jeers and mockery of the men on shore. 
The date was March i, 151 1. According to the 
chroniclers, the last words that those left on the island 
heard Nicuesa say were, ".Show thy face, O Lord, 
and we shall be saved."* 

A pathetic and noble departure! 

Into the misty deep then vanished poor Nicuesa 
and his faithful followers on that bright sunny spring 
morning. And none of them ever came back to, tell 
the tale of what became of them. Did they die of 
starvation in their crazy brigantine, drifting on and 
on while they rotted in the blazing sun, until her seams 
opened and she sank .? Did they founder in one of 
the sudden and fierce storms which sometimes swept 

* Evidently he was quoting the exquisite measures of the Eightieth Psalm, one of 
the most touching appeals of David the Poet-King, in which he says over and over 
again, "Turn us again, O God, and cause Thy, Face to shine, and we shall be saved." 



Panama and the Knights-Errant 27 

that coast ? Did the deadly teredo bore the ship's 
timbers full of holes, until she went down with all on 
board ? Were they cast on shore to become the prey 
of Indians whose enmity they had provoked by their 
own conduct ? No one ever knew. 

It was reported that years afterward on the coast 
of Veragua some wandering adventurers found this 
legend, almost undecipherable, cut in the bark of a 
tree, "A qui anduvo el desdichado Diego de ISlicuesa" 
which may be translated, "Here was lost the unfor- 
tunate Diego de Nicuesa/* But the statement is not 
credited. The fate of the gallant little gentleman is 
one of the mysteries of the sea. 

Of the original eleven hundred men who sailed with 
the two governors there remained perhaps thirty of 
Ojeda's and forty of Nicuesa's at Antigua with Encisco's 
command. This was the net result of the first two 
years of effort at the beginning of government in 
South America on the Isthmus of Panama, with its 
ocean on the other side still undreamed of. What 
these men did there, and how Balboa rose to further 
prominence, his great exploits, and finally how unkind 
Fate also overtook him, will form the subject of the 
next paper. 



Part I 

SOUTH AMERICAN FIGHTS 
AND FIGHTERS 

II 
Panama, Balboa and a Forgotten Romance 



Panama, Balboa and a Forgotten 
Romance 

I. The Coming of the Devastator 

THIS is the romantic history of Vasco Nunez 
de Balboa, the most knightly and gentle 
of the Spanish discoverers, and one who 
would fain have been true to the humble Indian 
girl who had won his heart, even though his life 
and liberty were at stake. It is almost the only 
love story in early Spanish-American history, and 
the account of it, veracious though it is, reads like 
a novel or a play. 

After Diego de Nicuesa had sailed away from Antigua 
on that enforced voyage from which he never returned, 
Vasco Nufiez de Balboa was supreme on the Isthmus. 
Encisco, however, remained to make trouble. In 
order to secure internal peace before prosecuting 
some further expeditions, Balboa determined to send 
him back to Spain, as the easiest way of getting rid 
of his importunities and complaints. 

A more truculent commander would have no diffi- 
culty in inventing a pretext for taking off his head. A 
more prudent captain would have realized that Encisco 
with his trained mouth could do very much more harm 
to him in Spain than he could in Darien. Balboa 
thought to nullify that possibility, however, by sending 
Valdivia, with a present, to Hispaniola, and Zamudio 

31 



32 South American Fights and Fighters 

with the Bachelor to Spain to lay the state of affairs 
before the King. Encisco was a much better advocate 
than Balboa's friend Zamudio, and the King of Spain 
credited the one and disbelieved the other. He 
determined to appoint a new governor for the Isthmus, 
and decided that Balboa should be proceeded against 
rigorously for nearly all the crimes in the decalogue, 
the most serious accusation being that to him was due 
the death of poor Nicuesa. For by this time everybody 
was sure that the poor little meat-carver was no more. 

An enterprise against the French which had been 
declared off filled Spain with needy cavaliers who had 
started out for an adventure and were greatly desirous 
of having one. Encisco and Zamudio had both 
enflamed the minds of the Spanish people with fabulous 
stories of the riches of Darien. It was curiously 
believed that gold was so plentiful that it could be 
fished up in nets from the rivers. Such a piscatorial 
prospect was enough to unlock the coffers of a prince 
as selfish as Ferdinand. He was willing to risk 
fifty thousand ducats in the adventure, which was 
to be conducted on a grand scale. No such expedition 
to America had ever been prepared before as that 
destined for Darien. 

Among the many claimants for its command, he 
picked out an old cavalier named Pedro Arias de 
Avila, called by the Spaniards Pedrarias.* 

This Pedrarias was seventy-two years old. He was 
of good birth and rich, and was the father of a large 
and interesting family, which he prudently left behind 
him in Spain. His wife, however, insisted on going 

* In the English chronicles he is often spoken of as Davila, which is near enough to 
Diabolo to make one wish that the latter sobriquet had been his own. ],t would have 
been much more apposite. 



Panama, Balboa and a Romance 33 

with him to the New World. Whether or not this 
was a proof of wifely devotion — and if it was, it 
is the only thing in history to his credit — or of an 
unwillingness to trust Pedrarias out of her sight, 
which is more likely, is not known. At any rate, 
she went along. 

Pedrarias, up to the time of his departure from 
Spain, had enjoyed two nick-names. El Galan and 
El Justador. He had been a bold and dashing cavalier 
in his youth, a famous tilter in tournaments in his 
middle age, and a hard-fighting soldier all his life. 
His patron was Bishop Fonseca. Whatever qualities 
he might possess for the important work about to 
be devolved upon him would be developed later. 

His expedition included from fifteen hundred to 
two thousand souls, and there were at least as many 
more who wanted to go and could not for lack of 
accommodations. The number of ships varies in 
different accounts from nineteen to twenty-five. The 
appointments both of the general expedition and the 
cavaliers themselves were magnificent in the extreme. 
Many afterward distinguished in America went in 
Pedrarias's command, chief among them being De 
Soto. Among others were Quevedo, the newly 
appointed Bishop of Darien, and Espinosa, the judge. 

The first fleet set sail on the nth of April, 1514, 
and arrived at Antigua without mishap on the 29th 
of June in the same year. The colony at that place, 
which had been regularly laid out as a town with 
fortifications and with some degree at least of European 
comfort, numbered some three hundred hard-bitten 
soldiers. The principle of the survival of the fittest 
had, resulted in the selection of the best men from all 
the previous expeditions. They would have been a 



34 South American Fights and Fighters 

dangerous body to antagonize. Pedrarias was in 
some doubt as to how Balboa would receive him. 
He dissembled his intentions toward him, therefore, 
and sent an officer ashore to announce the meaning 
of the flotilla which whitened the waters of the bay. 

The officer found Balboa, dressed in a suit of pajamas 
engaged in superintending the roofing of a house. 
The officer, brilliant in silk and satin and polished 
armour, was astonished at the simplicity of Vasco 
Nuiiez's appearance. He courteously delivered his 
message, however, to the effect that yonder was the 
fleet of Don Pedro Arias de Avila, the new Governor 
of Darien. 

Balboa calmly bade the messenger tell Pedrarias 
that he could come ashore in safety and that he was 
very welcome. Balboa was something of a dissembler 
himself on occasion, as you will see. Pedrarias there- 
upon debarked in great state with his men, and, as 
soon as he firmly got himself established on shore, 
arrested Balboa and presented him for trial before 
Espinosa for the death of Nicuesa. 

n. The Greatest Exploit since Columbus's Voyage 

During all this long interval, Balboa had not been 
idle. A singular change had taken place in his char- 
acter. He had entered upon the adventure in his 
famous barrel on Encisco's ship as a reckless, improvi- 
dent, roisterous, careless, hare-brained scapegrace. 
Responsibility and opportunity had sobered and 
elevated him. While he had lost none of his dash 
and daring and brilliancy, yet he had become a wise, 
a prudent and a most successful captain. Judged by 
the high standard of the modern times, Balboa was 




Balboa . . . Engaged in Superintending the Roofing of a House " 



Panama, Balboa and a Romance 35 

cruel and ruthless enough to merit our severe con- 
demnation. Judged by his environments and con- 
trasted v^ith any other of the Spanish conquistadores 
he was an angel of light. 

- He seems to have remained always a generous, 
affectionate, open-hearted soldier. He had conducted 
a number of expeditions after the departure of Nicuesa 
to different parts of the Isthmus, and he amassed much 
treasure thereby, but he always so managed affairs 
that he left the Indian chiefs in possession of their 
territory and firmly attached to him personally. There 
was no indiscriminate murder, outrage or plunder 
in his train, and the Isthmus was fairly peaceable. 
Balboa had tamed the tempers of the fierce soldiery 
under him to a remarkable degree, and they had 
actually descended to cultivating the soil between 
periods of gold-hunting and pearl-fishing. The men 
under him were devotedly attached to him as a rule, 
although here and there a malcontent, unruly soldier, 
restless under the iron discipline, hated his captain. 

Fortunately he had been warned by a letter from 
Zamudio, who had found means to send it via Hispa- 
niola, of the threatening purpose of Pedrarias and the 
great expedition. Balboa stood well with the author- 
ities in Hispaniola. Diego Columbus had given him a 
commission as Vice-Governor of Darien, so that as 
Darien was clearly within Diego Columbus's jurisdic- 
tion, Balboa was strictly under authority. The news 
in Zamudio's letter was very disconcerting. Like 
every Spaniard, Vasco Nunez knew that he could expect 
little mercy and scant justice from a trial conducted 
under such auspices as Pedrarias*s. He determined, 
therefore, to secure himself in his position by some 
splendid achievement, which would so work upon the 



36 South An^erican Fights and Fighters 

feelings of the King that he would be unable, for 
very gratitude, to press hard upon him. 

The exploit that he meditated and proposed to 
accomplish was the discovery of the ocean upon the 
other side of the Isthmus. When Nicuesa came down 
from Nombre de Dios, he left there a little handful 
of men. Balboa sent an expedition to rescue them 
and brought them down to Antigua. Either on that 
expedition or on another shortly afterward, two white 
men painted as Indians discovered themselves to 
Balboa in the forest. They proved to be Spaniards 
who had fled from Nicuesa to escape punishment 
for some fault they had committed and had sought 
safety in the territory of an Indian chief named Careta, 
the Cacique of Cueva. They had been hospitably 
received and adopted into the tribe. In requital for 
their entertainment, they offered to betray the Indians 
if Vasco Nunez, the new governor, would condone 
their past ofi^enses. They filled the minds of the 
Spaniards, alike covetous and hungry, with stories of 
great treasures and what was equally valuable, abundant 
provisions, in Coreta's village. 

Balboa immediately consented. The act of treachery 
was consummated and the chief captured. All that, 
of course, was very bad, but the diff^erence between 
Balboa and the men of his time is seen in his after 
conduct. Instead of putting the unfortunate chieftain 
to death and taking his people for slaves, Balboa 
released him. The reason he released him was because 
of a woman — a woman who enters vitally into the 
subsequent history of Vasco Nunez, and indeed of the 
whole of South America. This was the beautiful 
daughter of the chief. Anxious to propitiate his 
captor, Careta off"ered Balboa this flower of the family 



Panama, Balboa and a Romance 37 

to wife. Balboa saw her, loved her and took her to 
himself. They were married in accordance with the 
Indian custom; which, of course, was not considered 
in the least degree binding by the Spaniards of that 
time. But it is to Balboa's credit that he remained 
faithful to this Indian girl. Indeed, if he had not 
been so much attached to her it is probable that he 
might have lived to do even greater things than he did. 

In his excursions throughout the Isthmus, Balboa had 
met a chief called Comagre. As everywhere, the first 
desire of the Spanish was gold. The metal had no 
commercial value to the Indians. They used it simply 
to make ornaments, and when it was not taken from 
them by force, they were cheerfully willing to exchange 
it for beads, trinkets, hawks' bells, and any other petty 
trifles. Comagre was the father of a numerous family 
of stalwart sons. The oldest, observing the Spaniards 
brawling and fighting — "brabbling," Peter Martyr 
calls it — about the division of gold, with an astonishing 
degree of intrepidity knocked over the scales at last 
and dashed the stuff on the ground in contempt. He 
made amends for his action by telling them of a country 
where gold, like Falstaff's reasons, was as plenty as 
blackberries. Incidentally he gave them the news that 
Darien was an isthmus, and that the other side was 
swept by a vaster sea than that which washed its eastern 
shore. 

These tidings inspired Balboa and his men. They 
talked long and earnestly with the Indians and fully 
satisfied themselves of the existence of a great sea and 
of a far-off country abounding in treasure on the other 
side. Could it be that mysterious Cipango of Marco 
Polo, search for which had been the object of Colum- 
bus's voyage .? The way there was discussed and the 



38 South American Fights and Fighters 

difficulties of the journey estimated, and it was finally 
decided that at least one thousand Spaniards would be 
required safely to cross the Isthmus. 

Balboa had sent an account of this conversation to 
Spain, asking for the one thoi;sand men. The account 
reached there long before Pedrarias sailed, and to it, 
in fact, was largely due the extensive expedition. Now 
when Balboa learned from Zamudio of what was 
intended toward him in Spain, he determined to under- 
take the discovery himself. He set forth from Antigua 
the 1st of September, 15 13, with a hundred and ninety 
chosen men, accompanied by a pack of bloodhounds, 
very useful in fighting savages, and a train of Indian 
slaves. Francisco Pizarro was his second in command. 
All this in lieu of the one thousand Spaniards for which 
he had asked, which was not thought to be too great 
a number. 

The difficulties to be overcome were almost incredible 
The expedition had to fight its way through tribes 
of warlike and ferocious mountaineers. If it was not 
to be dogged by a trail of pestilent hatreds, the antago- 
nisms evoked by its advance must be composed in every 
Indian village or tribe before it progressed farther. 
Aside from these things, the topographical difficulties 
were immense. The Spaniards were armour-clad, 
as usual, and heavily burdened. Their way led through 
thick and overgrown and pathless jungles or across lofty 
and broken mountain-ranges, which could be sur- 
mounted only after the most exhausting labor. The 
distance as the crow flies, was short, less than fifty miles, 
but nearly a month elapsed before they approached the 
end of their journey. 

Balboa's enthusiasm and courage had surmounted 
every obstacle. He made friends with the chiefs 




'The Expedition Had to Fight Its Way Through Tribes of 
Warlike and Ferocious Mountaineers " 



Panama, Balboa and a Romance 39 

through whose territories he passed, if they were 
willing to be friends. If they chose to be enemies, he 
fought them, he conquered them and then made friends 
with them then. Such a singular mixture of courage, 
adroitness and statesmanship was he that everywhere 
he prevailed by one method or another. Finally, in 
the territory of a chief named Quarequa, he reached 
the foot of the mountain range from the summit of 
which his guides advised him that he could see the 
object of his expedition. 

There were but sixty-seven men capable of ascend- 
ing that mountain. The toil and hardship of the 
journey had incapacitated the others. Next to Balboa, 
among the sixty-seven, was Francisco Pizarro. Early 
on the morning of the 25th of September, 1513, the 
little company began the ascent of the Sierra. It 
was still morning when they surmounted it and reached 
the top. Before them rose a little cone, or crest, which 
hid the view toward the south. "There," said the 
guides, "from the top of yon rock, you can see the 
ocean.'* Bidding his men halt where they were, Vasco 
Nunez went forward alone and surmounted the little 
elevation. 

A magnificent prospect was embraced in his view. 
The tree-clad mountains sloped gently away from his 
feet, and on the far horizon glittered a line of silver which 
attested the accuracy of the claim of the Indians as to 
the existence of a great sea on the other side of what he 
knew now to be an isthmus. Balboa named the body of 
water that he could see far away, flashing in the sun- 
light of that bright morning, "the Sea of the South," 
or "the South Sea."* 

Drawing his sword, he took possession of it in the 

* It was Magellan who gave it the inappropriate name of "Pacific." 



40 South American Fights and Fighters 

name of Castile and Leon. Then he summoned his 
soldiers. Pizarro in the lead they were soon assembled 
at his side. In silent awe they gazed, as if they were 
looking upon a vision. Finally some one broke into 
the words of a chant, and on that peak in Darien those 
men sang the "Te Deum Laudamus." 

Somehow the dramatic quality of that supreme 
moment in the life of Balboa has impressed itself upon 
the minds of the successive generations that have read 
of it since that day. It stands as one of the great 
episodes of history. That little band of ragged, 
weather-beaten, hard-bitten soldiers, under the leader- 
ship of the most lovable and gallant of the Spaniards 
of his time, on that lonely mountain peak rising above 
the almost limitless sea of trackless verdure, gazing 
upon the great ocean whose waters extended before 
them for thousands and thousands of miles, attracts 
the attention and fires the imagination. 

Your truly great man may disguise his imaginative 
qualities from the unthinking public eye, but his great- 
ness is in proportion to his imagination. Balboa, 
with the centuries behind him, shading his eye and 
staring at the water: 

-Dipt into the future far as human eye could see, 



Saw the visions of the world, and all the wonder that would be. 

He saw Peru with its riches; he saw fabled Cathay; 
he saw the uttermost isles of the distant sea. His 
imagination took the wings of the morning and soared 
over worlds and countries that no one but he had 
ever dreamed of, all to be the fiefs of the King of 
Castile. It is interesting to note that it must have 
been to Balboa, of all men, that some adequate idea 
of the real size of the earth first came. 




'He Took Possession of the Sea in the Name of Castile and 
Leon " 



Panama, Balboa and a Romance 41 

Well, they gazed their fill; then, with much toil, 
they cut down trees, dragged them to the top of the 
mountain and erected a huge cross which they stayed 
by piles of stones. Then they went down the moun- 
tain-side and sought the beach. It was no easy task 
to find it, either. It was not until some days had 
passed that one of the several parties broke through 
the jungle and stood upon the shore. When they 
were all assembled, the tide was at low ebb. A long 
space of muddy beach lay between them and the 
water. They sat down under the trees and waited 
until the tide was at flood, and then, on the 29th of 
September, with a banner displaying the Virgin and 
Child above the arms- of Spain in one hand and witlt 
drawn sword in the other, Balboa marched solemnl} 
into the rolling surf that broke about his waist anc 
took formal possession of the ocean, and all the shores 
wheresoever they might be, which were washed by itF, 
v^aters, for Ferdinand of Aragon, and his daughter 
Joanna of Castile, and their successors in Spain. 
Truly a prodigious claim, but one which for a time 
Spain came perilously near establishing and main- 
taining.* 

Before they left the shore they found some canoes 
and voyaged over to a little island in the bay, which 
they called San Miguel, since it was that saint's day, 
and where they were nearly all swept away by the 
rising tide. They went back to Antigua by another 
route, somewhat less difficult, fighting and making 
peace as before, and amassing treasure the while. 
Great was the joy of the colonists who had been left 
behind, when Balboa and his men rejoined them. 

* To-day not one foot of territory bordering on that sea belongs to Spain. The 
American flag flies over the Philippines — shall I say forever ? 



42 South American Fights and Fighters 

Those who had stayed behind shared equally with those 
who had gone. The King's royal fifth was scrupu- 
lously set aside and Balboa at once dispatched a ship, 
under a trusted adherent named Arbolancha, to 
acquaint the King with his marvelous discovery, and 
to bring back reenforcements and permission to venture 
upon the great sea in quest of the fabled golden land 
toward the south. 

III. "Furor Domini" 

Unfortunately for Vasco Nunez, Arbolancha arrived 
just two months after Pedrarias had sailed. The 
discovery of the Pacific was the greatest single exploit 
since the voyage of Columbus. It was impossible 
for the King to proceed further against Balboa under 
such circumstances. Arbolancha was graciously 
received, therefore, and after his story had been heard 
a ship was sent back to Darien instructing Pedrarias 
to let Balboa alone, appointing him an adelantado, or 
governor of the islands he had discovered in the South 
Sea, and all such countries as he might discover beyond. 

All this, however took time, and Balboa was hav- 
ing a hard time with Pedrarias. In spite of all the 
skill of the envenomed Encisco, whohad been appointed 
the public prosecutor in Pedrarias's administration, 
Balboa was at last acquitted of having been concerned 
in the death of Nicuesa. Pedrarias, furious at the 
verdict, made living a burden to poor Vasco Nunez by 
civil suits which ate up all his property. 

It had not fared well with the expedition of Pedra- 
rias, either, for in six weeks after they landed, over 
seven hundred of his unacclimated men were dead 
of fever and other diseases, incident to their lack of 



Panama, Balboa and a Romance 43 

precaution and the unhealthy climate of the Isthmus. 
They had been buried in their brocades, as has been 
pithily remarked, and forgotten. The condition of 
the survivors was also precarious. They were starv- 
ing in their silks and satins. 

Pedrarias, however, did not lack courage. He sent 
the survivors hunting for treasures. Under different 
captains he dispatched them far and wide through the 
Isthmus to gather gold, pearls, and food. They turned 
its pleasant valleys and its noble hills into earthly hells. 
Murder, outrage and rapine flourished unchecked, 
even encouraged and rewarded. All the good work 
of Balboa in pacifying the natives and laying the 
foundation for a wise and kindly rule was undone in a 
few months. 

Such cruelties had never before been practised in 
any part of the New World settled by the Spaniards. 
I do not suppose the men under Pedrarias were any 
worse than others. Indeed, they were better than some 
of them, but they took their cue from their terrible 
commander. Fiske calls him "a two-legged tiger." 
That he was an old man seems to add to the horror 
which the story of his course inspires. The reckless- 
ness of an unthinking young man may be better under- 
stood than the cold, calculating fury and ferocity of 
threescore and ten. To his previous appellations, a 
third was added. Men called him, "Furor Domini'* 
— "The Scourge of God." Not Attila himself, to 
whom the title was originally applied, was more ruth- 
less and more terrible. 

Balboa remonstrated, but to no avail. He wrote 
letter after letter to the king, depicting the results of 
Pedrarias' actions, and some tidings of his succes- 
sive communications, came trickling back to the gov- 



44 South American Fights and Fighters 

ernor, who had been especially cautioned by the King 
to deal mercifully with the inhabitants and set them 
an example of Christian kindness and gentleness that 
they might be won to the religion of Jesus thereby! 
Pedrarias was furious against Balboa, and would 
have withheld the King's dispatches acknowledging 
the discovery of the South Sea by appointing him 
adelantado; but the Bishop of Darien, whose friend- 
ship Balboa had gained, protested and the dispatches 
were finally delivered. The good Bishop did more. 
He brought about a composition of the bitter quarrel 
between Balboa and Pedrarias. A marriage was 
arranged between the eldest daughter of Pedrarias and 
Balboa. Balboa still loved his Indian wife; it is evi- 
dent that he never intended to marry the daughter 
of Pedrarias, and that he entered upon the engage- 
ment simply to quiet the old man and secure his coun- 
tenance and assistance for the undertaking he pro- 
jected to the mysterious golden land toward the south. 
There was a public betrothal which effected the recon- 
ciHation. And now Pedrarias could not do enough 
for Balboa, whom he called his " dear son." 

IV. The End of Balboa 

Balboa, therefore, proposed to Pedrarias that he 
should immediately set forth upon the South Sea voy- 
age. Inasmuch as Pedrarias was to be supreme 
in the New World and as Balboa was only a provincial 
governor under him, the old reprobate at last con- 
sented. 

Balboa decided that four ships, brigantlnes, would 
be needed for his expedition. The only timber fit 
for shipping, of which the Spaniards were aware, 



Panama, Balboa and a Romance 45 

grew on the eastern side of the Isthmus. It would 
be necessary, therefore, to cut and work up the frames 
and timbers of the ships on the eastern side, then 
carry the material across the Isthmus, and there put 
it together. Vasco Nunez reconnoitered the ground 
and decided to start his ship-building operations at a 
new settlement called Ada. The timber when cut 
and worked had to be carried sixteen miles away to 
the top of the mountain, then down the other slope, to 
a convenient spot on the river Valsa, where the keels 
were to be laid, the frames put together, the ship- 
building completed, and the boats launched on the 
river, which was navigable to the sea. 

This amazing undertaking was carried out as 
planned. There were two setbacks before the work 
was completed. In one case, after the frames had been 
made and carried with prodigious toil to the other side 
of the mountain, they were discovered to be full of 
worms and had to be thrown away. After they had 
been replaced, and while the men were building the 
brigantines, a flood washed every vestige of their 
labor into the river. But, as before, nothing could 
daunt Balboa. Finally, after labors and disappoint- 
ments enough to crush the heart of an ordinary man, 
two of the brigantines were launched in the river. 
Most of the carrying had been done by Indians, over 
two thousand of whom died under the tremendous 
exactions of the work. 

Embarking upon the two brigantines, Balboa soon 
reached the Pacific, where he was presently joined 
by the two remaining boats as they were completed. 
He had now four fairly serviceable ships and three 
hundred of the best men of the New World under his 
command. He was well equipped and well provisioned 



46 South American Fights and Fighters 

for the voyage and lacked only a little iron and a little 
pitch, which, of course, would have to be brought to 
him from Ada on the other side of the Isthmus. The 
lack of that little iron and that little pitch proved the 
undoing: of Vasco Nunez. If he had been able to 
obtain them or if he had sailed away without them, he 
might have been the conqueror of Peru; in which case 
that unhappy country would have been spared the 
hideous excesses and the frightful internal brawls and 
revolutions which afterward almost ruined it under 
the Ions rule of the ferocious Pizarros. Balboa would 
have done better from a military standpoint than his 
successors, and as a statesman as well as a soldier the 
results of his policy would have been felt for generations. 

History goes on to state that while he was waiting 
for the pitch and iron, word was brought to him that 
Pedrarias was to be superseded in his government. 
This would have been delightful tidings under any 
other circumstances, but now that a reconciliation had 
been patched up between him and the governor, he 
rightly felt that the arrival of a new governor might 
materially alter the existing state of affairs. There- 
fore, he determined to send a party of four adherents 
across the mountains to Ada to find out if the rumours 
were true. 

If Pedrarias was supplanted the messengers were to 
return immediately, and without further delay they 
would at once set sail. If Pedrarias was still there, 
well and good. There would be no occasion for such 
precipitate action and they could wait for the pitch 
and iron. He was discussing this matter with some 
friends on a rainy day in 15 17 — the month and the 
date not being determinable now. The sentry attached 
to the governor's quarters, driven to the shelter of the 



Panama, Balboa and a Romance 47 

house by the storm, overheard a part of this harmless 
conversation. There is nothing so dangerous as a 
half-truth; it is worse than a whole lie. The soldier 
who had aforetime felt the weight of Balboa's heavy 
hand for some dereliction of duty, catching sentences 
here and there, fancied he detected treachery to 
Pedrarias and thought he saw an opportunity of 
revenging himself, and of currying favor with the 
governor, by reporting it at the first convenient oppor- 
tunity. 

Now, there lived at Ada at the time one Andres 
Garavito. This man was Balboa's bitter enemy. He 
had presumed to make dishonorable overtures to 
Balboa's Indian wife. The woman had indignantly 
repulsed his advances and had made them known to 
her husband. Balboa had sternly reproved Garavito 
and threatened him with death. Garavito had nour- 
ished his hatred, and had sought opportunity to injure 
his former captain. The men sent by Balboa to Ada 
to find out the state of affairs were very maladroit 
in their manoeuvres, and their peculiar actions awakened 
the suspicions of Pedrarias. The first one who entered 
the town was seized and cast into prison. The others 
thereupon came openly to Ada and declared their 
purposes. This seems to have quieted, temporarily, 
the suspicions of Pedrarias; but the implacable Gara- 
vito, taking opportunity, when, the governor's mind 
was unsettled and hesitant, assured him that Balboa 
had not the slightest intention whatever of marrying 
Pedrarias's daughter; that he was devoted to his 
Indian wife, and intended to remain true to her; 
that it was his purpose to sail to the South Sea, estab- 
lish a kingdom and make himself independent of 
Pedrarias. 



48 South American Fights and Fighters 

The old animosity and anger of the governor awoke 
on the instant. There was no truth in the accusations 
except in so far as it regarded Vasco Nufiez's attach- 
ment to his Indian wife, and indeed Balboa had 
never given any pubHc refusal to abide by the marital 
engagement which he had entered into; but there 
was just enough probability in Garavito's tale to carry 
conviction to the ferocious tyrant. He instantly 
determined upon Balboa's death. Detaining his 
envoys, he sent him a very courteous and affectionate 
letter, entreating him to come to Ada to receive some 
further instructions before he set forth on the South 
Sea. 

Among the many friends of Balboa was the notary 
Arguello who had embarked his fortune in the pro- 
jected expedition. He prepared a warning to Vasco 
Nunez, which unfortunately fell into the hands of 
Pedrarias and resulted in his being clapped into prison 
with the rest. Balboa unsuspiciously complied w4th 
the governor's request, and, attended by a small escort, 
immediately set forth for Ada. 

He was arrested on the way by a company of sol- 
diers headed by Francisco Pizarro, who had nothing 
to do with the subsequent transactions, and simply 
acted under orders, as any other soldier would have 
done. Balboa was thrown into prison and heavily 
ironed; he was tried for treason against the King and 
Pedrarias. The testimony of the soldier who had 
listened in the rainstorm was brought forward, and, 
in spite of a noble defense, Balboa was declared guilty. 

Espinosa, who was his judge, was so dissatisfied 
with the verdict, however, that he personally besought 
Pedrarias to mitigate the sentence. The stern old 
tyrant refused to interfere, nor would he entertain 



Panama, Balboa and a Romance 49 

Balboa's appeal to Spain. '*He has sinned," he said 
tersely; "death to him!" Four of his companions — 
three of them men who had been imprisoned at Ada, 
and the notary who had endeavored to warn him — 
were sentenced to death. 

It was evening before the preparations for the exe- 
cution were completed. Balboa faced death as daunt- 
lessly as he had faced life. Pedrarias was hated in 
Ada and Darien; Balboa was loved. If the veterans 
of Antigua had not been on the other side of the Isth- 
mus, Balboa would have been rescued. As it was, the 
troops of Pedrarias awed the people of Ada and the 
judicial murder went forward. 

Balboa was as composed when he mounted the 
scaffold as he had been when he welcomed Pedrarias. 
A proclamation was made that he was a traitor, and 
vdth his last breath he denied this and asserted his 
innocence. When the axe fell that severed his head, 
the noblest Spaniard of the time, and one who ranks 
with those of any time, was judicially murdered. One 
after the other, the three companions, equally as daunt- 
less, suffered the unjust penalty. The fourth execu- 
tion had taken place in the swift twilight of the tropi- 
cal latitude and the darkness was already closing down 
upon the town when the last man mounted the scaffold. 
This was the notary, Arguello, Y^ho had interfered to 
save Balboa. He seems to have been beloved by the 
inhabitants of the town, for they awakened from their 
horror, and some of consideration among them appealed 
personally to Pedrarias, who had watched the execu- 
tion from a latticed window, to reprieve the last vic- 
tim. "He shall die," said the governor sternly, "if 
I have to kill him with my own hand." 

So, to the future sorrow of America, and to the 



50 South American Fights and Fighters 

great diminution of the glory and peace of Spain, 
and the world, passed to his death the gallant, the 
dauntless, the noble-hearted Balboa. Pedrarias lived 
until his eighty-ninth year, and died in his bed at Pan- 
ama; which town had been first visited by one of his 
captains, Tello de Guzman, founded by Espinosa and 
upbuilt by himself. 

There are times when a belief in an old-fashioned 
Calvinistic hell of fire and brimstone is an extremely 
comforting doctrine, irrespective of theological bias. 
Else how should we dispose of Nero, Tiberius, Tor- 
quemada, and gentlemen of their stripe ? W^ierever 
such a company may be congregated, Pedro Arias de 
Avila is entitled to a high and exclusive place. 



Part I 

SOUTH AMERICAN FIGHTS 
AND FIGHTERS 

III 
Peru and the Pizarros 



Peru and the Pizarros 

A Study in Retribution 
"They that take the sword shall perish by the sword." 

I. The Chief Scion of a Famous Family 

THE reader will look in vain on the map of 
modern Spain for the ancient province of 
Estremadura, yet it is a spot which, in that 
it was the birthplace of the conquerors of Peru 
and Mexico — to say nothing of the discoverer 
of the Mississippi — contributed more to the glory 
of Spain than any other province in the Iberian penin- 
sula. In 1883, the ancient territory was divided into 
the two present existing states of Badajoz and Caceres. 
In the latter of these lies the important mountain 
town of Trujillo. 

Living there in the last half of the fifteenth century 
was an obscure personage named Gonzalo Pizarro. 
He was a gentleman whose lineage was ancient, whose 
circumstances were narrow and whose morals were 
loose. By profession he was a soldier who had gained 
some experience in the wars under the "Great Captain," 
Gonsalvo de Cordova. History would take no note 
of this vagrom and obscure cavalier had it not been 
for his children. Four sons there were whose qualities 
and opportunities were such as to have enabled them 
to play a somewhat large part in the world's affairs 

53 



54 South American Fights and Fighters 

in their day. How many unconsidered other progeny, 
male or female, there may have been, God alone knows 
— possibly, nay probably, a goodly number. 

The eldest son was named Francisco. His mother, 
who was not married to his father — indeed not married 
to anybody at any time so far as I can find out — was 
a peasant woman named Francisca Gonzales. Fran- 
cisco was born about the year 1471. His advent was 
not of sufficient importance to have been recorded, 
apparently, and the exact date of his terrestrial appear- 
ance is a matter of conjecture, with the guesses ranging 
between 1470 and 1478. A few years after the arrival 
of Francisco, there was born to Gonzales, and this 
time by his lawful wife, name unknown, a second son, 
Hernando. Bv the woman Gonzales, a score of years 
later, this promiscuous father had two more illegiti- 
mate sons, one of whom he named Gonzalo after him- 
self, and the third he called Juan. Francisca Gonzales 
also bore a fourth son, of whom Gonzalo Pizarro was 
not the father, who was known as Martin de Alcantara. 
Thus Hernando, the second, was legitimate; Gonzalo 
and Juan were his illegitimate half-brethren, having 
the same father but a different mother; while Alcan- 
tara was a uterine brother to the three illegitimate 
Pizarros, having the same mother but a different 
father. ' There must have been marvelous qualities 
in the original Pizarro, for such a family is rarely to 
be met with in history. 

Such a mixed state of affairs was not so shocking 
in those days as it would be at present. I do not find 
that anybody cast any stones at the Pizarros on account 
of these irregularities in their birth. In fact, they 
had plenty of companions in their anomalous social 
relations, and it is a speaking commentary on the 



Peru and the Pizarros 55 

times that nobody seemed to consider it as especially 
disgraceful or even very remarkable. 

Hernando, the second son, received a good edu- 
cation for the day. The others were thrown mainl} 
on their own resources. Legend says that Francisco 
was suckled by a sow. The statement may be dis- 
missed as a fable, but it is more than probable that 
the assertion that he was a swineherd is correct. It 
is certain that to the day of his death he could neither 
read nor write. He never even learned to sign his 
own name, yet he was a man of qualities who made a 
great figure in history in spite of these disabilities, 
leaving behind him an immortal if unenviable name. 
His career was humble and obscure to the vanishing 
point for forty years, of which practically nothing is 
known. It is alleged that he made a campaign in 
Italy with his father, but this is doubtful. A father 
who left him to tend the swine, who did nothing for 
his education, would not have bothered to take him 
a-soldiering. 

We leave the field of conjecture, however, and 
meet him in far-off America in 1510 as an officer under 
Alonzo de Ojeda — that Don Quixote among dis- 
coverers. His qualities had obtained for him some 
preferment, for when Ojeda left the miserable remnants 
of his colony at San Sebastian on the Gulf of Darien, 
and returned to Cuba for help, Pizarro was put in 
charge, with instructions to wait a certain time, and 
if succour did not reach him to leave. He waited 
the required time, indeed waited longer, until enough 
people died to enable the brigantine that had been 
left with them to carry the survivors, and then sailed 
away. He was a member of Encisco's expedition to 
Darien, in which he fell in with the youthful and 



56 South American Fights and Fighters 

romantic Vasco Xunez de Balboa. With Balboa he 
marched across the Isthmus, and was the second white 
man to look upon the Great South Sea in 1513. Sub- 
sequently, he was an officer under that American Nero, 
Pedro Arias de A^•ila, commonlv called Pedrarias, 
the founder and Governor of Panama, the conqueror 
of Nicaragua and parts adjacent. 0\4edo savs that 
between his seventieth year, which was his age when 
he came to America, and his eightv-sixth year, when 
he died, the infamous Pedrarias caused more than 
two million Indians to be put to death, besides a 
numerous lot of his own countrymen. If we lop off 
two ciphers, the record is still bad enough. 

In 1515, Pizarro and ]vIorales, bv direction of Pedra- 
rias, made an expedition to the south of the Gulf of 
San Miguel, into the territory of a chieftain named 
Biru, from whom thev earlv got into the habit of calling 
the vague land believed to exist in the South Sea, the 
"Land of Biru, "or Peru. It was on this expedition 
that the Spaniards, hotlv pursued by the natives, 
stabbed their captives one bv one and left them dying 
at internals in the pathway to check pursuit. The 
practice was effective enough and the action throws 
an interesting light on the Spanish conquistador 
in general and Pizarro in particular. 

It fell to the lot of Pizarro also to arrest his old 
captain, Balboa, just as the latter was about to sail on 
a vovaee of discovery to the fabulous gold country of 
Peru in 151 7.'*' WTien Balboa and Pizarro had crossed 
the Isthmus six years before, the son of the Cacique 
Comagre, obser^-ins their avidity for gold, told them 

* "What is this, Francisco Pizarro ?" Balboa asked, in great astonishment, of his 
former lieutenant and comrade, meeting him and his soldiers on the way -w-ith the order 
of arrest. '"You -were not wont to come out in this fashion to receive me! " 



Peru and the Pizarros 57 

that it abounded in a mysterious land far toward the 
south, and the young Indian made a httle clay image 
of a llama further to describe the country. 

To conquer that El Dorado had been Balboa's 
cherished dream. Well would it have been for the 
country had not the jealousy of Pedrarias cut short 
Balboa's career by taking off his head, thus forcing 
the enterprise to be undertaken by men of coarser 
mould and meaner clay. It does not appear that 
Pizarro had any hand in the judicial murder of Balboa, 
and no reflection can be made on his conduct for the 
arrest, which was simply a matter of military duty, 
probably as distasteful to Pizarro as it was surprising 
to Balboa. 

II. The Terrible Persistence of Pizarro 

In 1519, Pizarro was living in Panama in rather 
straightened circumstances. His life had been a failure. 
A soldier of fortune, he possessed little but his sword. 
He was discontented, and although now nearly fifty 
years of age, he still had ambition. With remembrance 
of what he had heard the young Indian chief tell 
Balboa, constantly inciting him to a further grapple 
with hitherto coy and elusive fortune, he formed a 
partnership with another poverty-stricken but enter- 
prising veteran named Diego de Almagro, whose 
parentage was as obscure as Pizarro's — indeed more 
so, for he is reputed to have been a foundling, although 
Oviedo describes him as the son of a Spanish laboring 
man. The two men supplemented each other. Pizarro, 
although astute and circumspect, was taciturn and 
chary of speech, though fluent enough on occasion; 
he was slow in making up his mind, too, but when it 



58 South American Fights and Fighters 

was made up, resolute and tenacious of his purpose. 
Almagro was quick, impulsive, generous, frank in 
manner, "wonderfully skilled in gaining the hearts 
of men," but sadlv deficient in other qualities of leader- 
ship. Both were experienced soldiers, as brave as 
lions and nearly as cruel as Pedrarias himself — being 
indeed worthy disciples of his school. 

The two penniless, middle-aged soldiers of fortune 
determined to undertake the conquest of that distant 
empire — a stupendous resolution. Being almost with- 
out means, they were forced to enlarge the company 
by taking on a third partner, a priest named Luque, 
who had, or could command, the necessary funds. 
\\ith the sanction of Pedrarias, who demanded and 
received a share, largely gratuitous, in the expedition, 
they bought two of the four vessels which Balboa had 
caused to be taken to pieces, transported them across 
the Isthmus, then set them up again, and relaunched in 
the Pacific. Enlisting one hundred men under his 
banner, Pizarro set sail ^^^ith the first vessel on the 
14th of November, 1524, Almagro was to follow after 
with reenforcements and supplies in the second ship. 
One Andag-ova had made a short excursion southward 
some time before, but they soon passed his latitude 
and were the first white men to cleave those southern 
seas. 

With only their hopes to guide them, without pilot, 
chart or experience, being, I suspect, indifferent sailors 
and wretched navigators, they crept along the forbidding 
shore in a crazy little ship, landing from time to time, 
seeing no evidence of the empire, being indeed unable 
to penetrate the jungles far enough to find out much 
of anything about the countries they passed. Finally, 
at one place, that they afterwards called "Starvation 



Peru and the Pizarros 59 

Hartor/* the men rebelled and demanded to be led 
back. They had seen and heard little of importance. 
There seemed to be nothing before them but death 
by starvation. 

Pizarro, however, who has been aptly described as 
"terribly persistent/* refused to return. He sent the 
ship back to the Isles of Pearls for provisions, and 
grimly clung to the camp on the desolate shore. When 
twenty of his men were dead of starvation, the ship 
came back with supplies. In one of their excursions, 
during this wait at Starvation Harbor, they had 
stumbled upon and surprised an Indian village in 
which they found some clumsy gold ornaments, with 
further tales of the El Dorado to the southward. 
Instead of yielding to the request of his men that they 
immediately return in the ship, therefore, the indomi- 
table Spaniard made sail southward. He landed at 
various places, getting everywhere little food and less 
gold, but everywhere gaining more and more con- 
firmation that the foundation of his dreams was not 
"the baseless fabric of a vision." 

In one place they had a fierce battle with the Indians 
in which two of the Spaniards were killed and a large 
number wounded. Pizarro now determined to return 
to Panama with the little gold he had picked up and 
the large stories he had heard, there to recruit his band 
and to start out again. Almagro meanwhile had set 
forth with his ship with sixty or seventy additional 
adventurers. He easily followed the traces of Pizarro 
on the shore but the ships did not meet. Almagro 
went farther south than Pizarro. At one landing- 
place he had a furious battle with the natives in which 
he lost an eye. He turned back after reaching the 
mouth of the river San Juan in about the fourth paral- 



6o South American Fights and Fighters 

lei of north latitude. He, too, had picked up some 
little treasure and a vast quantity of rumor to com- 
pensate for his lost optic and bitter experience. But 
the partners had little to show for their sufferings and 
expenditures but rumors and hopes. 

Pedrarias in disgust withdrew from the expedition 
for a price, which, with the money necessary to send 
out a second expedition, was furnished through Luque 
by the Licentiate Espinosa. About September, 1526, 
with two ships, the two captains set forth once more. 
This time they had with them a capable pilot named 
Ruiz. They avoided the coast and steered direct 
for the mouth of the San Juan River. Pizarro surprised 
a village here, carried off some of the natives, and a 
considerable amount of gold. This Almagro, as the 
best "persuader," took back to Panama in the hope 
that by exhibiting it he could gain much needed reen- 
forcements for their expedition. 

The ships were very much undermanned. The 
experience of the first expedition, as related by the 
survivors, had been so horrible that it was with difficulty 
that they could get anybody to go with them on the 
second. Pizarro agreed to remain at the mouth of 
the river and examine the vicinity, while Ruiz with 
the second ship sailed southward to see what he could 
discover. Pizarro's men found no gold, although 
they explored the country with prodigious labor. 
Indians fell upon them, at one time killing fourteen 
who had stranded in a canoe on the bank of a river. 
Many other Spaniards perished, and all except Pizarro 
and a few of the stoutest hearts begged to return to 
Panama. 

Ruiz came back just as they had begun to despair. 
He had crossed the Equator, the first European to 



Peru and the Pizarros 6i 

cross it from the north, and had sailed half a degree 
south from the Hne.* 

He brought back some Indians, further specimens 
of gold and silver ornaments, exquisitely woven woollen 
garments, et cetera, which he had taken from a craft 
cruising near the shore, which were proofs positive 
of the existence of the long-desired country. 

Almagro now made his appearance with reinforce- 
ments and the keels were soon turned to the south. 
Coasting along the shore, they saw increasing evidence 
of cultivation in the valleys and uplands, backed by 
the huge snow-crowned range of the Andes. Large 
villages appeared here and there. Finally, they 
anchored opposite a considerable town laid out in 
well-defined streets, containing about two thousand 
houses, many of them built of stone. From their 
position close to the shore they thought that they could 
make out that the inhabitants wore ornaments of gold. 
Several canoes approached the ship, one of them 
crowded with warriors carrying a species of gold mask 
as an ensign. 

There appeared to. be at least ten thousand warriors 
assembled on the shore but Pizarro landed with the 
few horses which he had brought along in the ship. 
A sharp engagement ensued, and the result might 
have been disastrous to the Spaniards had not one of 
them fallen from his horse during the fray. This 
diversion of what they considered a single animal 
into two, both living, alarmed the Indians so much, 
that they desisted from the attack and withdrew, the 
Spaniards taking advantage of the chance to return 
to the ships. 

What to do next was the problem. They had not 

* Magellan had crossed it from the south five years before. 



62 South American Fights and Fighters 

sufficient force or supplies with them to encounter the 
natives, or conquer or even explore the country. The 
expedition was about as meagrely equipped as it well 
could be and be an expedition at all. There were 
long discussions on the ships and a fierce quarrel 
between the two partners. Finally, it was composed 
outwardly, and it w^as decided that Pizarro should 
remain at the coast at some convenient point while 
Almagro, the traverser, went back for reenforcements. 
Pizarro elected to pitch his camp on the little Island 
of Gallo which they had discovered. Those who were 
appointed to remain with him rebelled at the decision 
which left them marooned on a desolate island with 
no adequate provisions for their needs. Pizarro, 
however, insisted and Almagro sailed with the other 
ship. Shortly afterward, Pizarro sent the remaining 
ship with the most obstinate of the mutineers to 
Panama. A letter revealing their sad plight, which 
was concealed in a ball of cotton sent as a present to 
the wife of the governor by one of the men on the 
island of Gallo, was smuggled ashore at Panama 
when xA.lmagro's ship reached that point, despite his 
vigilant efforts to allow no such communications to pass. 
There was a new" governor in Panama, Pedro de 
los Rios. Incensed by the loss of hfe and the hard- 
ships of the two expeditions, with the lack of definite 
and tangible results, and disregarding the remon- 
strances of Almagro, he dispatched two ships under 
one Pedro Tafur to bring them back. Life on the 
island of Gallo had been a hideous experience. Famine, 
disease and inclement weather had taken off many 
and had broken the spirit of the most of the rest of 
the band. Nothing; could break that of Pizarro. 
When Tafur appeared, he refused to return. Drawing 



Peru and the Pizarros 63 

an east-and-west line upon the sand with his sword, 
he made a brief soldierly address to his men. 

"Friends and comrades/' he said, facing the south, 
"on that side of the line are toil, hunger, nakedness, 
the drenching storm, destruction and death. On 
this side," turning to the north, "are ease and pleasure. 
There lies Peru with its riches. Here, Panama with 
its poverty. Choose each man as best becomes a 
cavalier of Castile. For my part, I go to the south.'' 

Such was the effect of his electrifying words, that, 
as he stepped over the line, a number of his comrades, 
led by Ruiz, the pilot, and Pedro de Candia, a Greek 
gunner, followed him. The number varies from 
thirteen to sixteen according to different authorities. 
The weight of evidence inclines me to the smaller 
number.* 

Tafur raged and threatened, but Pizarro and his 
men persisted. They got themselves transferred to 
the Island of Gorgona where there were water and 
game and no inhabitants, and there they stayed while 
Tafur returned. 

* Prescott, to whose remarkable accuracy, considering the time in which he wrote, 
the authorities at his command, and the disabilities under which he labored, I am glad 
to testify, in view of the prevalent opinion that his books are literature and not history, 
says thirteen; Helps says fifteen, while Markham and Fiske say sixteen. Kirk verifies 
Prescott's conclusion with a good argument. One thing there is to which no one but 
Prescott seems to have called attention or explained. Everybody says Ruiz, the old 
pilot, was the first to follow Pizarro across the line. If so, he must have stepped back 
again, probably at Pizarro's request, for six months later we find him leaving Panama 
in charge of the ship which took Pizarro and his devoted subordinates off the Island of 
Gorgona. Ruiz could only have reached Panama in Tafur's ship. Certain it is that 
only thirteen men were ennobled for their heroic constancy on the Island of Gallo, 
as we shall see later. The three names added to Prescott's list are put there on the 
authority of Garcilasso de la Vega, the son of a Spanish cavalier and an Inca princess. 
Two of the three men he mentions he claims told him personally that they had been 
of the heroic band which had refused to abandon Pizarro. Such claims made by 
men who may really believe them to be true after the event, are not rare in history. 

Whatever the exact number, there were but a handful. The rest, choosing Panama , 
remained on the north side of the line, and I have no doubt regretted their decision 
for the rest of their lives. 



64 South American Fights and Fighters 

Less than a score of men marooned on a desert 
island in an unknown sea, opposite a desolate and 
forbidding coast, without a ship or any means of leaving 
the island, not kno^^4ng whether Almagro and Luque 
would be able to succor them; their position was 
indeed a desperate one. It shows, as nothing else 
could, the iron determination of the indomitable Span- 
iard. At that moment when Pizarro drew the line 
and stepped across it after that fiery address, he touched 
at the same time the nadir of his fortunes and the 
zenith of his fame. Surelv it stands as one of the 
great dramatic incidents of history. The conquest 
of Peru turned upon that verv instant, upon the deter- 
mination of that moment; and upon the conquest of 
Peru depended more things in the future history of 
the earth than were dreamed of in the narrow phi- 
losophy of any Spaniard there present, or of any other 
man in existence in that long-past day. 

Peru has plaved a tremendously important part in 
the affairs of men. It was the treasure of Peru that 
armed the soldiers of Alva and laid the keels of the 
Armada. It was the treasure of Peru that relieved 
the Spanish people of the necessity of wresting a 
national revenue out of a soil by agriculture; which 
abrogated the auxiliary of agriculture, manufactures; 
which precluded the possibility of the corollary of the 
other two, commerce. It was the treasure of Peru 
that permitted the Spanish people to indulge that 
passion for religious bigotry which was stifling to 
liberty and throttling to development, and which put 
them hopelessly out of touch with the onward and 
progressive movement of humanity in one of the most 
vital periods and movements in history. It was the 
treasure of Peru that kindled the fires of the Inquisition, 



Peru and the Pizarros 65 

in which the best blood of the nation lighted it to its 
downfall, and blazed the way for Manila and San- 
tiago. Philip II, and his decadent and infamous 
successors depended upon the mines of Potosi and the 
mines of Potosi hung upon Pizarro and his line in the 
sand. The base-born, ignorant, cruel soldier wrecked 
in one moment a nation, made and unmade empires, 
and changed the whole course of the world. 

It was largely the Spanish zeal and intolerance 
that developed and made perfect the Reformation, 
for no great cause has ever won success without 
opposition, nay, persecution. "The blood of the 
martyr,'' says St. Augustine, "is the seed of the 
church.*' 

To return to the situation. Tafur presently reached 
Panama and reported. The governor and the people 
of that city looked upon Pizarro as a madman. Luque 
and Almagro were unwearying in their efforts and 
importunities, however, and finally they wrung a reluc- 
tant permission from De los Rios for Ruiz and one 
small ship and a few men to go to the rescue, with the 
proviso that a return must be made within six months. 
One can imagine the joy with which the desperate 
adventurers on the island saw the sails of that ship 
whitening the horizon. Once more they set sail to 
the south, arriving finally before a large and populous 
town called Tumbez. Here they saw undoubted 
signs of the existence of a great empire in a high state 
of civilization. The little party had some pleasant 
intercourse with the natives of Tumbez. 

They gathered a considerable amount of gold and 
silver, some of it exquisitely wrought by cunning arti- 
ficers into the forms of beautiful and unknown plants 
and animals. There was no possible doubt as to 



66 South American Fights and Fighters 

the truth of* their golden dreams. The empire of 
Peru in all its magnificence lay before them. 

Too meagre a force to embrace the opportunity, 
there was nothing to do but to return to Panama. 
There it was agreed that Pizarro, with De Candia, 
should go over to Spain, taking with him Peruvians 
and treasures, tell what he had seen, and secure the 
royal countenance and support for their future under- 
taking, while Almagro and Luque remained at Panama 
preparing for the final expedition. Pizarro had no 
sooner set foot in Spain than he was arrested for debt 
on some ancient charge by Encisco, but he was too 
big a man, now, for such petty persecution and he 
was at once released and ordered to present himself 
at court. The rough, blunt soldier, with his terrible 
yet romantic tale with its infinite possibilities, was 
received with astonishing cordiality. He gained a 
royal commission to discover and conquer the empire 
of Peru for Spain for the distance of two hundred 
leagues south of the Santiago River, and received 
the title of Governor and Captain-General with large 
powers and revenue appertaining, which it was easy 
for the crown to bestow since Pizarro had to get them 
himself. 

Almagro, who justly felt himself slighted and his 
services inadequately valued, was made Governor of 
Tumbez; Luque was appointed Bishop for the same 
place and Protector of the Peruvians; Ruiz was named 
Grand Pilot of the Southern Ocean; De Candia, a 
General of Artillery; and every one of the thirteen 
who had crossed the line at Gallo was ennobled and 
made an Hidalgo of Spain. 

Then Pizarro went back to Trujillo. Certainly it 
must have been a happy moment for the neglected 



Peru and the Pizarros 67 

bastard who had been a swineherd to return to his 
native village under such enviable conditions. He 
set sail for America early in 1530, with three ships. 
His four brothers came with him, the able Hernando 
being made second in command. Almagro and Luque 
were very much chagrined at the meagre reward that 
had fallen to them, and Almagro looked with deep 
antagonism upon the advent of the Pizarros, who, 
he realized instinctively, would undermine his influence 
with his partner. This hatred the new Pizarros 
repaid in kind. Some sort of peace, however, was 
patched up between them, and in January, 153 1, with 
three small ships and one hundred and eighty-three 
men, including thirty-seven horses, Francisco set 
forth on his final voyage of conquest. 

Nearly seven years had elapsed since the first attempt 
was made. As yet they had little but empty titles, 
large powers, purely potential, however, and drained 
purses to show for their heroic endeavor, but the 
persistence of Pizarro was about to triumph at last. 
After a voyage of thirteen days, the squadron arrived 
at San Mateo, where the horses and soldiers were 
landed and ordered to march along the shore southward, 
while the ships were sent back for reenforcements 
which Almagro was gathering as usual. They returned 
with thirty more men and thirty-six additional horses. 
Arriving at the Gulf of Guayaquil, Pizarro established 
himself on the island of Puna, opposite Tumbez, which 
he cleared of its inhabitants by a series of desperate 
battles. There he was reenforced by a detachment of 
one hundred men with an additional number of horses 
under the command of young Hernando de Soto, 
another gallant Estremaduran, and quite the most 
attractive among this band of desperadoes, whose 



68 South American Fights and Fighters 

design was to loot an empire and proclaim the Holy 
Gospel of Christ as the Spanish people had received 
the same. I have no doubt at all that the desire to 
propagate their religion was quite as real and as 
vividly present to them at all times as was their greed 
for gold. They had a zeal for God, but not according 
to knowledge; like the men of the Middle Ages who 
bore the cross on their hauberks, every Spaniard was 
a crusader. Aside from De Soto, there is no single 
character of all those, either Indian or Spaniard, who 
for fifteen years made Peru a bloody battle-ground, 
except the unfortunate young Inca Manco Capac, 
who is entitled to the least admiration or affection. 
In April, 1532, Pizarro embarked his men on the 
ships and landed, not without some fierce fighting, at 
Tumbez,, on the coast of Peru. At last the expedition 
was on solid ground and nothing prevented its further 
advance. On the i8th of May, therefore, they took 
up the march for the interior, little dreaming of the 
ultimate fate that awaited them all. 

III. "A Communistic Despotism.'* 

The empire of Peru well deserved the title of Mag- 
nificent. The highest civilization attained on the 
Western Hemisphere had been reached on this South 
American coast. A form of government unique in 
history had been developed and put in operation by a 
capable and enlightened people. It was a "com- 
munistic despotism," a community with a despot 
and a ruling class superimposed upon its socialism. 
The sway of these despots was exceedingly mild and 
gentle, even if absolute. With wonderful ingenuity 
and a rare capacity for organization, upon the 



Peru and the Pizarros 69 

ruins of an older civilization, they built the Inca 
Empire. 

The Incas were the ruling tribe, the Emperor being the 
Inca par excellence. Their empire was as thoroughly 
organized as it is possible for a community to be. 
Indeed, it was organized to death; the Inca was the 
empire, and one source of the empire's speedy down- 
fall was due to the fact that the national spirit of the 
Peruvians had been so crushed by the theocratic 
despotism of their rulers that they viewed the change 
of masters with more or less indifference. When 
the Incas conquered a country and people they so 
arranged affairs as to incorporate the people as part 
of the empire. They called their domains grandilo- 
quently "the four quarters of the earth." They did 
not govern this great territory by brute force as did the 
Aztecs — although they knew how to use the sword 
if necessary — but by methods dictated by prudent 
and profound policy, productive of peaceful success. 
The mild government of the Incas was at once patri- 
archal, theocratic and despotic. Whatever it was, 
from the Incas' point of view it was absolute and 
satisfactory. 

Prescott's account of the Inca civilization reads 
like a romance, yet it is practically borne out by all 
chroniclers who have discussed the subject, some of 
whom appear to desire to find the great American 
historian at fault. Large and populous cities existed, 
communication between which was had by great 
national roads traversing every part of the land. Vast 
herds of llamas were domesticated, from the hair of 
which the exquisitely woven cloth was made. Agricul- 
ture flourished. The country, upraised from the sea by 
the great range of mountains, afforded every variety of 



70 South American Fights and Fighters 

climate from temperate to tropic, and the diversified 
products of the soil corresponded with the opportunities 
presented. And every foot of space was utilized for 
a population of millions of industrious workers, with 
an economy and resourcefulness only emulated by the 
Chinese in the working of their country. Even the 
mountain-sides were terraced by tiny farms. 

The Peruvians had made some progress in the arts, 
less in science. They lacked the art of writing, although 
they possessed a highly developed system of mnemonic 
aids in the form of curiously knotted and particolored 
strings called quipus. Their literature, if the contra- 
diction be permitted, was handed down like their 
history, by oral tradition. 

Great as had been their achievements, however, 
they were in a curious state of arrested development. 
With the Peruvians, says Helps, "everything stopped 
short." They had not arrived at a finality anywhere, 
save perhaps in their mode of government. They 
could erect enormous time-defying buildings, but 
they knew of no way to roof them except by thatching 
them. Their roads were marvels of engineering con- 
struction, but they could not build bridges except 
frail ones made out of osier cables. No wheels ran 
along the smooth, well-paved, magnificent highways. 
They could refine gold and silver and make weapons 
of tempered copper, but they were entirely ignorant 
of the use of iron. The greatest human development 
has depended upon that last metal. The great nations 
are those which have had the steel-tempered sword 
blades in their hands. They could administer a colony 
in a way to excite the admiration of the world, and yet 
not write a line. There is little probability that they 
would have progressed much beyond the state at which 



Peru and the Pizarros 71 

they had arrived, for there was no individual liberty 
in the land. That was the fatal defect in their system. 
It was the lack which put that touch of finality to their 
otherwise marvelously developed condition and which 
limited inexorably their civilization. The unchange- 
able conditions were stifling to ambition and para- 
lyzing to achievement. The two things the country 
lacked were the two vital things to human progress 
and human success — letters and liberty. 

The religious development of the Peruvians was 
very high. They worshipped an unknown Supreme 
Being and they worshipped him, it is conclusively 
demonstrated, without human sacrifice. Objectively 
they paid their chief adoration to the sun, moon and 
stars, and to the Inca as the child or earthly repre- 
sentative of the sun. Sun-worship is the noblest 
and highest of all the purely natural religions. When 
to this was superadded an instinctive feeling for a 
great First Cause, of which the solar magnificence 
was but a manifestation, the religion of the Peruvians 
is entitled to great respect. 

Their history ran back into the mists of the past. 
At the time of the arrival of Pizarro, a curious con- 
dition, anomalous in their records, had arisen. Huayna 
Capac, one of the greatest monarchs of the Inca line, 
had extended his dominion by force of arms over the 
rich province of Quito, far to the north. He had 
taken as one of his concubines the daughter of the 
conquered monarch of Quito and by her had a son 
named Atahualpa.* 

The son of the monarch by his sister, his only legal 

* Generally speaking, the Peruvians were monogamous, except in case of the Inca, 
who had as many wives as he wished, and who sometimes rewarded exceptional services 
by allowing some favored adherent an extra wife 



72 South American Fights and Fighters 

wife, or Coya — the irrevocable Peruvian method of 
providing for the Inca succession — was named Huas- 
car. Huayna on his deathbed, after a glorious reign 
of forty years, made the fatal mistake of dividing his 
dominion between Huascar, to whom was given 
ancient Peru, and Atahualpa, who took Quito to the 
north. World-history, of which Huayna could have 
known nothing, has shown conclusively enough that 
such a policy has always brought about civil war, and 
this startling reversal of Peruvian custom by a doting 
monarch on his deathbed produced the usual 
results. 

The armies of Atahualpa, led by two famous soldiers 
called Quiz-Quiz and Chalcuchima, had met and 
defeated the troops of Huascar in a series of bloody 
battles. They had taken that unhappy monarch 
prisoner and, by a series of terrible massacres instigated 
by Atahualpa, had striven with large success to cut 
off the family of the unfortunate Inca root and branches. 
The land had been devastated by the fierceness of the 
internecine conflict, towns had been carried by storm, 
the inhabitants put to the sword; the ordinary course 
of events had been interrupted and agriculture had 
languished; the empire lay gasping under the paw of 
the Peruvian usurper when Pizarro landed upon the 
shore. The strife that was to ensue was between two 
base-born, cruel-hearted soldiers of fortune, one at 
the head of a little body of white men, but with all the 
prestige of their color and development in warfare, 
and weapons, the other, the now undisputed monarch 
of a vast if prostrate and exhausted empire, at the 
head of great armies flushed with victory and eager 
for new conquests. 

What would the result of the struggle be .? 



Peru and the Pizarros 73 



IV. The Treacherous and Bloody Massacre of 

Caxamarca. 

Having marched some thirty miles south of Tumbezin 
the pleasant spring weather, Pizarro, finding what he 
conceived to be a favorable location for a permanent 
colony, encamped his army, laid out and began to build 
a city, which he called San Miguel. The Spaniards were 
great builders and the city was planned and fortified on 
an extensive scale and the more important buildings 
erected, so that it was not until September that Pizarro 
considered his base of supplies had been made secure. 

Meanwhile he had been assiduously seeking inform- 
ation on every hand concerning the internal dissensions 
in the Peruvian empire, so that he could undertake 
his conquest intelligently. On the 24th of September, 
1532, the valiant little army was mustered and, after 
deducting a small garrison for San Miguel, those 
appointed for the expedition were found to include 
sixty-seven horsemen, three arquebusiers, twenty cross- 
bowmen and eighty-seven footmen, in all one hundred 
and seventy-seven.* 

They were accompanied by two pieces of small 
artillery called falconets, each having a bore of two 
inches and carrying a shot weighing about a pound 
and a half, being, with the three arquebusiers. General 
De Candia's command. With this insignificant force, 
augmented, I suppose, by some Indian captives acting 
as pack-mules, Pizarro started out to conquer an empire 
conservatively estimated to contain from ten to twelve 
millions of people, supporting an army of disciplined 

* The exact number varies with different authorities, none of whom, however, 
makes the total greater than two hundred. 



74 South American Fights and Fighters 

soldiers whose numbers ran into the hundreds of 
thousands. 

The Spanish forces were well equipped and in good 
condition, but as they left the sea-shore and advanced, 
without molestation, to be sure, through the populous 
countr}', some idea of the magnitude of their self- 
appointed task permeated the minds of the common 
soldiery, and evidences of hesitation, reluctance and 
dissension speedily appeared. The um\"ilHngness 
of the men grew until Pizarro was forced to take notice 
of it. Halting on the fifth dav in a pleasant valley, 
he met the emergency in his usual characteristic fashion. 
Parading the men, he addressed to them another of those 
fiery speeches for which he was famous, and the quality 
of which, from so illiterate a man, is amazingly high. 

He painted anew the dangers before them, and then 
adroitly lightened the shadows of his picture by point- 
ing to the rewards. He appealed to all that was best 
in humanity by sa}*ing that he wanted none but the 
bravest to go forward.* 

He closed his address by offering to allow all who 
wished to do so to return to San Miguel, whose feeble 
garrison, he said, he should be glad to have reentorced. 
And, with a subtler stroke of policy, he promised that 
those who went back should share in the rewards 
eained by their more constant brethren. But four 
infantr}'men and five horsemen shamefacedly availed 
themselves of this permission. The rest enthusiastic- 
ally clamored to be led forward. Both mutiny and 
timidity were silenced forever in that band. 

* Napoleon at Toulon succeeded in getting volunteers to man a particularly dan- 
gerous artillerv outpost swept bv the guns of the enemy, by the simple expedient of 
denominating the position as the "Battery of the Fearless," or the "Battery of those 
who are not afraid." Even better than Pizarro, this great Corsican soldier of fortune 
knew how to handle his men. 



Peru and the Pizarros 75 

On a similar occasion, Cortes had burnt his ships. 
It is hard to decide which was the better expedient. 
Certainly Cortes was incomparably a much abler 
man than Pizarro, but somehow Pizarro managed to 
rise to the successive emergencies which confronted 
him, just the same. 

Greatly refreshed in spirits, the army, purged of 
the malcontents, proceeded cautiously on its way south. 
They were much elated from time to time at receiving 
envoys from Atahualpa, who coupled a superstitious 
reverence for the invaders as Children of the Sun with 
demands as to their purposes, and a request that they 
halt and wait the pleasure of the Inca. Pizarro dis- 
sembled his intentions and received them with fair 
words, but refusing to halt, kept steadily on, announcing 
his intention of visiting Atahualpa wherever he might 
be found. 

Pursuing their journey, the Spaniards came early 
in November to the foot of the mountains. To the 
right of them, that is toward the south, extended a 
great well-paved road which led to the imperial capital 
of Cuzco. In front of them, a narrow path rose over 
the mountains. One was easy, the other hard. In 
spite of suggestions from his soldiery, Pizarro chose 
the hard way. He had announced his intention of 
visiting the Inca, and visit him he would although 
the way to the city of Cuzco was open and the place 
might easily be taken possession of. The seat of 
danger and the source of power were alike with the 
Inca, and not in Cuzco. 

With sixty foot and forty horse, this old man, now 
past sixty years, led the way over the mountains, while 
his brother brought up the rear with the remainder. 
The passage was a terrible one, but the indomitable 



76 South American Fights and Fighters 

band, catching some of the spirit of their leader, sur- 
mounted all the obstacles, and a few days after from 
the summits of a mighty range, surveyed the fertile, 
beautiful plains spread out before them on the farther 
side of the mountain. Close at hand was the white- 
walled city, Caxamarca or Cajamarca, embowered 
in verdure in a fruitful valley. The place was an 
important position, well fortified and containing, 
under ordinary circumstances, a population of ten 
thousand. The reader should remember the name, 
for it was the scene of one of the most remarkable 
and determinative events in history. The conquest, 
in fact, was settled there. 

Beyond the city, on the slopes of the hills, and 
divided from it by a river, over which a causeway 
led, stood the white tents of the fifty thousand soldiers 
of Atahualpa's army. The number of them filled the 
Spaniards with amazement, and in some cases with 
apprehension. There was no going back then, how- 
ever; there was nothing to do but advance. At the 
hour when the bells of Holy Church in their home 
land were ringing vespers, in a cold driving rain mingled 
with sleet, the little cortege entered the city, which they 
found as the French found Moscow, deserted of its 
inhabitants. With the ready instinct of a soldier, 
Pizarro led his force to the public square, or Plaza, 
which was in the shape of a rude triangle surrounded 
on two sides by well-built, two-story houses of stone. 
On the other side, or base, rose a huge fortress with a 
tower overlooking the city on one hand and the Inca's 
camp on the other. 

Without hesitation, the weary Spaniards made them- 
selves at home in the vacant buildings around the 
square; guards were posted in order that the strictest 



Peru and the Pizarros 77 

watch might be kept, and other preparations made 
for defence. Here they prepared for the repose of 
the night. Meanwhile Hernando de Soto with twenty 
horse was sent as an ambassador to Atahualpa's 
camp. He had been gone but a short time when 
Pizarro, at the suggestion of his brother Hernando, 
who made the point that twenty horsemen were not 
sufficient for defense and too many to lose, despatched 
the latter with twenty more cavalrymen to reenforce 
the first party. 

The two cavahers and their escort found the Inca 
in the midst of his camp. The monarch was seated 
and surrounded by a brilliant assemblage of nobles 
in magnificent vestments. He was guarded by a great 
army of soldiers armed with war-clubs, swords and 
spears of tempered copper, and bows and slings. He 
received the deputation with the impassivity of a stone 
image, vouchsafing no answer to their respectful 
address until it had been several times repeated. At 
last he declared he would visit the strangers on the 
morrow, and directed them to occupy the buildings 
in the public square, and none other until he came 
to make arrangements. His demeanor was cold 
and forbidding to the last degree. The results 
of the embassy were highly unsatisfactory. One 
incident connected with the interview is worthy of 
mention. 

De Soto, who was a most accompHshed cavalier, 
a perfect centaur in fact, noticing the amazed and 
somewhat alarmed glances of the Inca's men at the 
movements of his restless horse, suddenly determined 
to exhibit his skill at the manege. Striking spurs 
to his charger, he caused him to curvet and prance 
in the open before the Inca, showing at the same time 



78 South American Fights and Fighters 

his own horsemanship and the fiery impetuosity of 
the high-spirited animal. He concluded this per- 
formance — shall I say circus ? — by dashing at full 
speed toward the Inca, reining in his steed with the 
utmost dexterity a few feet from the royal person. 
What the Inca thought of this has not been recorded. 
I imagine he must have been terribly affronted. Some 
of his nobles and soldiers, less able to preserve their 
iron composure than their master, shrank back from 
the onrushing avalanche of steed and steel presented 
by De Soto and his horse. The Spaniards found their 
dead bodies the next day. It did not do to show 
cowardice in the presence of the Inca! They had 
been summarily executed by Atahualpa's order. Yet, 
I cannot think the Inca a man of surpassing bravery 
after all. Certainly he was not a man of sufficient 
ability worthily to hold the scepter of so great an 
empire. He made a frightful mistake in not stopping 
the invaders where it would have been easy for him 
to do so, in the narrow defiles of the mountains, and he 
did not even yet seem to have decided in his own 
mind how he should treat them. To be sure, accord- 
ing to some accounts, he looked upon them as belonging 
to the immortal gods, but there have been men brave 
enough in the defence of land and liberty to defy even 
the immortal gods! A vast deal of sympathy, indeed, 
has been wasted upon Atahualpa. Without doubt 
the Spaniards treated him abominably, and for that 
treatment the wretched monarch has claims to our 
consideration, but for his personal qualities or his 
past record, none. Helps explains his name as derived 
from two words meaning, "sweet valor!" Mark- 
ham affirms that the words mean "A chance, or lucky, 
game-cock!" Neither appellation, in view of Ata- 



Peru and the Pizarros 79 

hualpa's history can be considered as especially apt 
or happy. 

Much dissatisfied and thoroughly perturbed, De 
Soto and Hernando Pizarro returned to the city. Long 
and serious were the deliberations of the leaders that 
night. At length they arrived at a momentous decision, 
one for which they have been severely and justly 
censured, but which under the circumstances was the 
only possible decision which insured their safety. 
They had no business in that country. They had 
come there with the deliberate intention of looting it 
without regard to the rights of the inhabitants, and 
in that purpose lay the seeds of all their subsequent 
crimes, treachery, murder, outrage and all other 
abominations whatsoever. No surprise need be felt 
therefore, that they determined upon the seizure of 
the person of the Inca. The example of Cortes with 
Montezuma was before them. I have no doubt that 
his amazing exploits in Mexico had been talked over 
frequently by every camp-fire in the New and the 
Old World, and many bold spirits had longed for an 
opportunity to emulate his doings. The Spaniards 
in Peru had already learned enough of the local con- 
ditions to realize that with the person of the Inca they 
could control the government. To seize him was 
black treachery, of course; but being there, it was 
the only thing to do, from their point of view. The 
night was an anxious one and the morning found them 
engaged in preparations. De Candia was posted 
with two small falconets and three arquebusiers on 
the roof of the fortress. His guns pointed toward 
the Inca's camp, though he had instructions to turn 
them on the square as soon as the Peruvians arrived. 
De Soto and Hernando Pizarro divided the horse 



So South American Fights and Fighters 

between them and occupied the houses on the other 
side of the square with them. The infantn* were 
distributed at various points of vantage. Pizarro 
reserved twenty of the trustiest blades for his own 
escort. The arms of the men were carefuUv looked to, 
and nothing that the skill or experience of the captains 
could suggest was left undone to promote the success 
of their hazardous and bold undenaking. 

Mass was said with great solemnity by the priest 
of the expedition, Fra Vincente de Valverde, an iron- 
souled, fierce-hearted Dominican, meet ecclesiastic 
for such a band. Refreshments were then provided 
liberally for the soldiers — it is not so stated, but it 
may be presumed that some of them were in liquid 
shape — and then the whole panv settled down to 
await developments. Nothing seemed to be going 
on in the Peruvian camp during the morning. The 
Inca moved toward the citv in the afternoon, bur 
stopped just outside the walls, to the great annoyance 
of the Spaniards, who had found the long wait a trying 
experience indeed. Late in the afternoon. Pizarro 
received a message that Atahualpa had changed his 
mind and would not visit him until the following day. 
This did not suit his plans at all. He instantly returned 
an answer to the Inca, begging him not to defer his 
^^sit, saving that he had provided ever\T^hing for his 
entertainment — which was quite true although in 
a very different sense from that conveyed bv the words 
of his messenger — and requesting Atahualpa to 
arrange to sup with him without fail that night. Pizarro 
had previously assured the Inca that he would receive 
him as a "friend and brother"! ^^^^at reasons actu- 
ated the Inca we have no means of ascertaining. Suffice 
it to say that he chanj^ed his mind and canie. 




He Threw the Sacied Vohmie to the Ground in a Violent Rage 



Peru and the Pizarros 8i 

A short time after sunset, therefore, the Inca, attended 
by a numerous retinue, entered the square. Ata- 
hualpa was borne aloft on a throne made of massive 
gold, supported on the shoulders of his attendants. 
He was dressed with barbaric magnificence in robes 
of exquisite texture, heavily embroidered and orna- 
mented with gold and silver. Around his neck blazed 
a necklace of emeralds of wonderful size and great 
brilliancy. His forehead was hidden by a thick 
vivid scarlet fringe depending from a diadem almost 
to the eyebrows. This tassel (or borla, as the Span- 
iards called it; llauta, according to the Peruvians) 
was the supreme mark of the imperial dignity in that 
no one but the Inca could wear it. The Inca was 
surrounded by a gorgeously attired body of retainers 
who were preceded by hundreds of menials who cleared 
the streets of every obstacle which might impede the 
progress of their master, the Son of the Sun. The 
processions divided at the square, and the monarch was 
carried forward in the open. Not a Spaniard save 
the watchful sentries pacing the fort above, was to 
be seen. 

"Where,** asked Atahualpa, looking about in surprise, 
*'are the strangers.?" 

At this moment, at the request of Pizarro, Father 
Valverde came forward in his canonicals, crucifix in 
one hand, breviary or Bible in the other.* He was 
attended by one of the Peruvians whom Pizarro had 
taken back to Spain, who was to act as interpreter. 
This precocious little rascal, named Felippo, was the 
best interpreter that could be found, which is saying 
little, for his Spanish was bad and mainly picked up 
in the camps from the rude soldiery, and his Peruvian 

* Authorities differ as to which it was. The matter is not material, anyway. 



82 South American Fights and Fighters 

was only an uncouth dialect of the highly inflected 
and most flexible and expressive Ouichua, the language 
of the educated, indeed of the most of the people. 
Approaching tlie litter of the Inca, Valverde delivered 
an extraordinary address. He briefly explained the 
doctrines of the Christian relio-ion to the astonished 
Peruvian, requiring him to conform to this religion 
and acknowledge the spiritual supremacy of the Pope, 
and at the same time to submit to the sway of his 
Imperial Majesty Charles V. It was a pretty heavy 
demand to spring upon a great monarch in the midst 
of his people, and it was not to be wondered at that 
Atahualpa rejected these requests with contempt. 

The Inca answered the friar not without shrewd- 
ness. He had gathered the idea from Felippo's vile 
mistranslation that the Christians worshipped four 
Gods, i. e. the Trinity and the Pope. He declared 
that he himself worshipped one, and there was its 
sign and svmbol — pointing to the declining sun; 
that he beheved one God was better than four. He 
rejected indignantly the idea that he, "The Lord of 
the Four Quarters of tJie Earth," owed allegiance to 
any Charles V. or any other earthly monarch, of whom 
he had never heard and who had assuredly never heard 
of him either. 

Valverde had referred to the book in his hand as 
he had spoken and Atahualpa now asked to see it. 
The volume was a clasped one and he found it difficult 
to open. Valverde, probably thinking he could show 
him to unclasp the volume, stepped nearer to him. 
The Inca repulsed him with disdain. Wrenching 
open the covers he glanced rapidly at the book, 
and perhaps suddenly realizing the full sense of the 
insult which had been offered to him in the demands 



Peru and the Pizarros 83 

of the dogmatic and domineering Dominican, he threw 
the sacred volume to the ground in a violent rage. 

"Tell your companions," he said, "that they shall 
give me an account of their doings in my land. I 
v^ill not go hence until they have made me full satis- 
faction for all the v^rongs they have committed!" 

Then he turned and spoke to his people — the last 
vt'ord he was ever to address them as a free monarch 
from his throne. There was a loud murmur from the 
crowd. 

Thereupon, according to some accounts, Valverde 
picked up the book through which Atahualpa had 
offered such a deadly insult to his religion and rushed 
back to Pizarro, exclaiming, " Do you not see that 
while we stand here wasting our breath in talking 
with this dog, full of pride as he is, the fields are filling 
with Indians.? Set on at once! I absolve you for 
whatever you do!" I would fain do no man an injus- 
tice. Therefore, I also set down what other authorities 
say, namely, that Valverde simply told Pizarro what 
had occurred. 

There is no dispute, however, as to what happened 
immediately. Pizarro stepped out from the doorway, 
and drawing a. white scarf from his shoulders, threw 
it into the air. Instantly a shot roared from the fort 
above his head. The famous war-cry of the Spaniards, 
"St. Jago, and at them!" rang over every quarter of 
the square into which, with bared swords, couched 
lances and drawn bows, poured the mail-clad soldiery 
horse and foot. 

They burst upon the astonished ranks of the unarmed 
Indians with the suddenness and swiftness of a tor- 
nado. From the roof above, the gunners discharged 
their bullets into the swaying, seething mass. With 



84 South American Fights and Fighters 

their \\-ands of otRco, Nvith their naked hands. Nvith 
whatever they could sei/e. the Peruvians defended 
themselves. Thev rallied around the person of the 
Inea. freelv offering their breasts to the Spanish blades 
with the vain atternpt to protect their monarch. 

Atahualpa sat upon his reeling throne gazino; upon 
the bloodv scene in a da/e of surprise. Pizarro and 
the twentv chosen cut their wav to the litter and, 
strikuig down the helpless bearers thereof, precipitated 
the Inca to the ground. The Spaniards were mad 
with carnage now, and were striking indiscriminately 
at anv Indian. Then could be heard Pizarro's stern 
voice ringing above the melee. "Let no man who 
values his lite strike at the Inca!" Such was the 
fierceness ot his soldien". however, that in his frenzied 
attempt to protect the monarch. Pi/arro was wounded 
in one of his hands bv his own men. As the Inca 
tell, he had been caught bv Pi/arro and supported, 
although a soldier named Estete snatched the imperial 
Uauta from his head as he fell. 

With the capture of the Tnca. what little t'utile resis- 
tance the unarmed host had been able to make ceased. 
The Indians, relentlesslv pursued by their bloody con- 
querors, fled in everv direction, and. to anticipate 
events, the armv deprived of its monarch and its 
generals, dispersed the next day without striking a 
blow. Indeed the armv was helpless for offence while 
the Spaniards held the Inca as a hostage. 

The estimates of the numbers slain in one half-hour's 
fighting in the square of Caxamarca var\ from two to 
ten thousand. NVhatever the number, it was great 
and horrible enough. An unparalleled act of treachery 
had been consummated, and Peru, in the space of 
thirty minutes had been conquered and Pizarro held 



Peru and the Pizarros 85 

it in the hollow of his hand. Not a Spaniard had been 
wounded except Pizarro himself, and his wound had 
been received from his own men while he tried to pro- 
tect Atahualpa from the Spaniards' fury. 

V. The Ransom and Murder of the Inca 

Pizarro treated the Inca well enough, although he 
held him in rigorous captivity. Nobody else in Peru 
seemed to know what to do under the circumstances, 
and the Spaniards soon lost all apprehension of resist- 
tance. Quiz-Quiz and Chalcuchima still held Huascar 
a captive at Xuaca, a fortress between Caxamarca 
and Cuzco. Atahualpa, realizing how important such 
a man would be to the Spaniards, sent orders that he 
be put to death and the unfortunate deposed Inca was 
therefore executed by the two generals. Although 
he was captive, Atahualpa's orders were as implicitly 
obeyed as if he had been free. He was still the Inca, 
if only by tlie right of sword, and the forces of his 
generals were sufliciently great to render it impossible 
for the son of Huascar, named Manco Capac, who 
had escaped the massacre of his kinfolk and who was 
the legitimate heir to the throne, to claim the crown. 

Pizarro, with a fine show of rectitude, affected to be 
horrified by this evidence of brutal cruelty, and although 
Atahualpa claimed no connection with the assassina- 
tion of Huascar, it was impossible to acquit him of it. 
Greatly desiring his freedom, Atahualpa, who had 
observed the Spanish greed for gold, made an extra- 
ordinary proposition to Pizarro. They were together 
in a room twenty-two feet long by seventeen feet broad. 
Standing on his tiptoes and reaching as high as he 
could, probably about eight feet, for he was a tall man, 



86 South American Fights and Fighters 

Atahualpa oftVrcd to till the room with gold to the height 
he had touched, if, when he had completed his under- 
taking, Pizarro would release him. 

Pizarro jumped at the offer, and well he might for 
no such proposition had ever before been offered in 
the history of the world. The cubic contents enclosed 
by the figures mentioned are three thousand three 
hundred and sixtv-six feet, or in round numbers, 
one hundred and twent\-hve cubic yards. Such a 
treasure was even bevond the most delirious dreams 
of the conquerors.* 

As scx^n as these astonishing terms had been formally 
accepted in writing by Pizarro, the Inca sent orders 
to all parts of his dominion for the people to bring in 
their treasures. He also directed the royal palaces 
and temples to be stripped, and his orders were obeyed. 
He had stipulated that he be allowed two months in 
which to raise the ransom and day after day a stream 
of Indians poured into the city loaded with treasure 
which dazzled the eyes of the astonished and delighted 
conquerors. Atahualpa had stipulated also that the 
gold was not to be smelted — that is, he would not 
be required to fill the spaces solidly with ingots, but 
that it should be put into the room just as it was brought 
in and allowed to take up as much space as was required, 
even though it might be in the shape of a manufactured 
article. 



* Thf ransom of King John II. of France, taken prisoaer by the Black Prince, was 
three million golden crowns. The value of the ancient «•* Jt la ttmrtittf v aried between 
$1.50 and $^-3Cs so that the ransom of John was betwifen four and one-half and seven 
millioa dollar?. Estimating the purchasing power of money in John's time at two 
and one-half times that of the present, we arrive at a ransom of between eleven and 
eighteen millicvn dollars- If we split the difference and call the ransom fourteen and 
a half millions, we still find that the Christian monarch was slightly undervalued as 
compared with his heathen fellow in misery. However, all this is proitless, because 
the ransom of John was never paid. 




They Burst Upon the Ranks of the Unarmed Indians " 



Peru and the Pizarros 87 

Some of the gold was in the shape of ingenious plants 
and animals, one especially beautiful object being 
the corn plant with blades of gold and tassels of silver. 
Pizarro, to his credit, ordered that some of these speci- 
mens of exquisite workmanship should be preserved 
intact. Much of the treasure was in the shape of 
plates or tiles, from the interior of the temples or 
palaces which did not take up much space. The 
great temple of the Sun at Cuzco had a heavy out- 
side cornice, or moulding, of pure gold. It was stripped 
of this dazzHng ornament to satisfy the rapacity of the 
conquerors. There was also a vast quantity of silver 
which was stored in other chambers. Silver hardly 
counted in view of the deluge of the more precious 
metal. 

Atahualpa did not quite succeed in filHng the space, 
but he came so near it that Pizarro, in a formal agree- 
ment executed before a notary, declared that the Inca 
had paid his ransom and that he was released from 
any further obHgation concerning it. That is the only 
release, however, which the unfortunate Inca ever got. 
Obviously, it was dangerous to turn loose such a man. 
Therefore, in spite of his legal quittance, he still was 
held in captivity. The Spaniards concluded finally 
that the only safe course was to get rid of him. 

The ransom amounted in our money to over seven- 
teen milHon dollars, according to Prescott; to nearly 
eighteen million dollars, according to Markham. 
Pizarro's personal share was seven hundred thousand 
dollars; Hernando received three hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars; De Soto two hundred and fifty thou- 
sand dollars. Each horse soldier received nearly one 
hundred thousand; the principal foot soldiers, fifty 
thousand, and the others smaller sums in accordance 



,88 South American Fights and Fighters 

with their rank :ind service. The precious metals 
were so plentiful that for the time being they lost 
their value, for men cheerfully paid thousands of 
dollars for a horse. Indeed so bulky and unwieldlv 
was the treasure with which the soldiers were loaded, 
that it is solemnly averred that creditors avoided their 
debtors fearing lest the latter should pay them what 
they owed in further heaps of the bulky treasure; 
and it is certainly a fact that even the animals shared 
in the opulence of the conquest, for the horses were 
shod with silver. Silver was cheaper and easier to 
get than iron. 

^^ hile thev were revelling in the treasure, dividincj 
the spoils and deliberating what was to be done with 
Atahualpa, Almagro arrived \Wth his reenforcements. 
Naturallv he and his men demanded a share of the 
booty. Great was their distrust and furious their 
anger when Pizarro and the other conquerors refused 
to give it up. Finally, the quarrels that ensued were 
composed by presenting Almagn.^ and his followers 
certain sums, large in themselves though trifling in 
comparison with what Pizarro's men had received. 
Almagro's men were also given to understand that 
they could move on to the southwest at some con- 
venient season and conquer another empire and take 
all they could for themselves. Unfortunately for them, 
there were no more empires like Peru on this or any 
other side of the world left them to conquer. 

Hernando Pizarro was then dispatched to Spain to 
deliver the roval fifth to Charles, to give an account 
of the fortunes of the conquerors and to secure what 
further rewards and privileges he could for them. 
Atahualpa saw him leave with the greatest regret. 
He was a man of tierce, stern, implacable disposition. 



Peru and the Pizarros 89 

not a lovely character, according to any of the chroni- 
clers, but he seems to have been fairer, and in his own 
way he had treated the unfortunate monarch better, 
than any of the others, unless it was De Soto. Possibly 
Hernando might have restrained his brother from the 
last infamy he was about to perpetrate if he had been 
there. Certainly De Soto would have sought to dis- 
suade him. Pizarro realized this and got rid of De 
Soto by sending him away to investigate as to the truth 
of rumors that Atahualpa was conspiring to obtain 
his freedom. I have no doubt that he was so con- 
spiring. I hope so, for if he was, it was about the only 
manly thing that he did. While De Soto was away, 
at the instigation of the soldiers, Pizarro with seeming 
reluctance, allowed Atahualpa to be brought to, 
trial. I have no doubt that Pizarro instigated the 
soldiers himself. He. was adroit enough to do it, 
and he would have no scruples whatever to deter 
him. 

The Inca was tried on twelve charges, among which 
were included accusations that he had usurped the 
crown, and given its prerogatives to his friends (instead 
of to the Spaniards!). He was charged with being an 
idolator,an adulterer and a polygamist,and finally itwas 
urged that he had endeavored to incite an insurrection 
against the Spaniards. Such accusations came with 
a peculiarly bad grace from the conquerors. The 
whole thing, charges and all, would have been a farce 
had it not been for the certain grim and terrible out- 
come. 

Felippo, the Infamous, was the only interpreter. 
He had made love to one of the Inca's wives, whom 
the Spaniards had allowed to share his captivity. 
Atahualpa, furiously affronted, desired to have him 



90 South American Fights and Fighters 

put to death, but Felippo was too Important to the 
Spaniards, and he was spared. How Atahualpa's 
defense suffered from Felippo's interpretations under 
such circumstances may easily be imagined. In spite 
of the courageous opposition oi' a few of the self- 
appointed judges, the Inca was convicted and sentenced 
to death. Father Valverde concurring, in writing, 
^vith the sentence. 

When the verdict ot the court was communicated 
to Atahualpa, he did not receive it with any remarkable 
degree of fortitude. He is a pititul rather than a 
heroic figure. 

"What have I done," he cried, weeping, "what have 
my children done, that I should meet with such a fate ?" 
Tm^ning to Pizarro, he added, "And from your hands, 
too, who have met with friendship and kindness from 
my people, to whom 1 have given nr\' treasure, who 
have received nothing but benefit from my hands!" 

He besought the conqueror to spare his life, prom- 
ising an\thing, even to double the enormous ransom 
he had already paid, and offering to guarantee in any 
appointed way the safety of every Spaniard in the 
arnn'. Pedro Pizarro, a cousin of the conqueror, 
who has left an account of the interview, says that 
Pizarro was greatly affected by the touching appeal 
of the unfortunate monarch, and that he wept in turn 
also. However that may be, he refused to interfere. 
A man may weep and weep, to paraphrase Shakes- 
peare, "and be a villain!" There was no help for it; 
Atahualpa had to die. 

It was on the 2gth of August, i^Si- ^^^^ ^^^^^ 
and deliberations had occupied the whole day. It 
was two hours after sunset before they were ready 
to execute him in the great square of Caxamarca. 



Peru and the Pizarros 91 

The Spanish soldiers, fully armed, arranged themselves 
about a huge stake which had been planted in the 
square. Back of them were groups of terrified, awe- 
struck Peruvians, helplessly weeping and lamenting 
the fate of their monarch which they were powerless 
to prevent. Flickering torches held by the troops 
cast an uncertain light over the tragic scene. Ata- 
hualpa was led forth in fetters and chained to the 
stake. He showed little of the firmness and fortitude 
of a proud monarch or a brave man. How feebly v 
he appears when contrasted with the great Aztec 
Guatemotzin, calmly enduring the tortures of the 
red-hot gridiron and resolutely refusing to gratify 
either his captors' lust for treasure or desire for revenge 
by vouchsafing them a single fact or a single moan. 

By Inca's side was Valverde, who had been assiduous 
in his endeavors to make him a Christian. The 
friar was ready to offer such grim consolation as he 
could to the wretched Peruvian in whose death sentence 
he had concurred. Atahualpa had hitherto turned a 
deaf ear to all his importunities, but at the last moment 
Valverde told him that if he would consent to receive 
baptism, he should be strangled instead of burnt to 
death. Atahualpa asked Pizarro if this was true, 
and being assured that it was, he abjured his religion 
to avoid the agonies of fire, and was thereupon bap- 
tised under the name of Juan de Atahualpa. The 
name John was given to him because this baptism 
in extremis took place on St. John the Baptist's day. 
Rarely, if ever, has there been a more ghastly pro- 
fanation of the Holy Sacrament of Regeneration! 

Before he was garroted, Atahualpa begged that his 
remains might be preserved at Quito with those of 
his mother's people. Then he turned to Pizarro and 



9^ South American Fights and Fighters 

made a final request of that iron-hearted man. that 
he would look after and care for the Inca's little chil- 
dren. While he was strangled and his bodv was being 
burnt, the terrible soldiery could be heard muttering 
the magnificent words of the Apostolic Creed for the 
redemption of the soul of the monarch. Incidentalh" 
it mav be noted that a little later the Spaniards burnt 
old Chalcuchima. of whom they had got possession 
bv treacherous promises, at the stake. He did not 
embrace Christianity at the last moment, but died as 
he had lived, a soldier and a Peruvian. 

The character of Atahualpa mav be learned from 
his career. He was a cruel, ruthless usurper, neither 
magnanimous in \Tictorv nor resolute in defeat. As I 
have said, it is impossible to admire him, but no one 
can think of his fate and the treacheries of which he 
was a victim \vithout being touched by his miseries. 
If he sowed the wind he reaped the whirlwind, and 
bad as he was, his conquerors were worse. 

Pizarro placed the diadem on Toparca, a youthful 
brother of the late Inca. ^^l^en he was alone \A"ith 
his anendants, the bov tore the Uaiita from his fore- 
head, and trampled it under his foot, as no longer 
the badi^e of an^"thing but infamv and shame, and in 
two short months he pined and died from the con- 
sciousness of his disgrace. \Miereupon another Peru- 
\-ian, Manco Capac, the legitimate heir of Huascar, 
appeared before Pizarro, made good his claim, and 
on the entrv of the conquerors into Cuzco. was crowned 
Inca ^^•ith all the ancient ceremonies. He soon realized 
that he was but a puppet in Pizarro's hands, however, 
and bv and bv he, too, made a bold stroke for freedom. 

The conquest of Peru was complete. Charles V.. 
dazzled bv the report of Hernando Pizarro, and the 



Peru and the Pizarros 93 

substantial treasures placed before him, created Pizarro 
a Marquis of the country, confirmed him in the gov- 
ernment of the country for two hundred and seventy 
leagues south of the Santiago River and gave Almagro 
authority to conquer everything beyond that limit. 
Almagro was very much dissatisfied with his share, 
but concluded, before he made any violent objections, 
to go to the south and find an El Dorado for himself. 
Meanwhile Pizarro, who was almost as much of 
a builder as Rameses the Great, laid out the city of 
Lima and the Spaniards flocked into Peru from Spain 
in thousands. The natives were enslaved and the 
country divided into great estates, and Almagro and 
his discontented started for Chili. Hernando Pizarro, 
who was appointed governor of Cuzco, held young 
Manco in close confinement, and everything outwardly 
was as fine and lovely as a summer day. There was 
growing, however, a tremendous uprising in which 
hitherto somnolent Fate was about to lay her belated 
hands upon nearly all the actors of the great drama 
which had heretofore been so successfully played. 

VI. The Inca and the Peruvians Strike Vainly for 

Freedom 

The city of Cuzco was, without doubt, the most 
superb capital on the American continent. Indeed, 
in many respects, it would have compared favorably 
with, let us say, Paris in the sixteenth century, with its 
narrow, crooked, unpaved filthy streets, its indifferent 
protections, and its utterly inadequate water and sewer 
system. The streets, which were broad and level, 
crossed each other at regular intervals at right angles. 
They were smoothly paved with large, carefully joined 



94 South American Fights and Fighters 

flagstones. The houses in the city were ni.iinly biiilt 
of stone. The palace of the Inca, which st^xxi alone 
in the gre^at Sv^iuire, nv.is of marble. The uniiples and 
buiklings for public assemblages, armories, granaries, 
storehouses, fU^Uni^ were of great size. The stones 
used in their erection were of such dimensions that 
the Spanish marvelled at the engineering genius which 
could have quarried them and put them in place, just 
as the people of tv>-dav are amazed at Baalbec and the 
pyramids. Stone cv^nduits ran down each street, 
bringing delicious water to each doorway, and the 
citv was traversed by tv\\> mountain streams crossed 
bv bridges cut by watergates. That the cold, clear 
wuter might be kept pure and sweet, the beds of the 
rivers like those of the Euphrates at Babylon, had 
been paved. 

The citv was surrounded b\- walls and dominated 
bv a great fortress called Sacsahuaman, which stood 
upon a steep and rockv hill overkx>king the capital. 
On the side tow~ard the city the fonress w;is practically 
impregnable on account of the precipitous slopes of 
the cliffs. The other side w-as defended by three 
stone walls laid out in zigzag shape, with salient and 
rtvntrant ans^les (viemi-hmes\ like an old-tashioned 
rail fence, with many do^'>rs, each closevl by stone pon- 
cullis, in each wall. Within the walls >\-as a citadel 
of three tall towers. The whole constituted a most 
formidable position. 

Wliile Francisco Pizarro was founding and laWng 
out on a magnificent scale and \\-ith lavish generosity 
the citv of Lima, near the seaboard. Hernando was 
made governor of Cuzco. Hernando was, without 
doubt, the most able and most admirable of the Pizarros. 
although his fame has been obscured by that of his 



Peru and the Pizarros 95 

elder brother. He had been directed by Charles V to 
treat the Inca and the people with kindness, and, per- 
haps on that account, he had not exercised so rigor- 
ous a surveillance over the movements of young Manco 
as his ordinary prudence would have dictated. At 
any rate, the bold and youthful emperor found no 
difficulty in leaving hir; ancient capital. He repaired 
immediately to the Valley of Yucay, in the high moun- 
tains of the northeastward of Cu/xo. There had been 
brewing a vast conspiracy against the Spaniards for 
some time, and at the summons of the Inca, thither 
resorted the great chiefs of the Peruvians with their 
retainers and dependents, including their women and 
children. 

The partisans of the two Inca half-brothers, who 
had not been slain, made common cause with each 
other. All internal diflPerences were forgotten in the 
presence of the common enemy. They had much to 
revenge. Their treasures had been taken, their temples 
polluted, their religion profaned, their monarchs slain, 
their women outraged and the people forced into a 
degrading, exhausting slavery. Strange is it to recog- 
nize that human slavery was introduced into Peru 
by the Christians! 

It is good to think that the manhood of the Peru- 
vians was awakened at last. Manco, burning with 
fiery patriotic zeal, summoned his great vassals and 
subjects to his standard. "Death to the Spaniards!" 
were the watchwords that resounded with fierce war- 
cries among the mountains and hills. With ancient 
ceremonies, drinking from a common cup, they pledged 
their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to 
their hereditary chief in defense of their altars and 
their fires, their native land. 



96 South American Fii}:hts and Fighters 

Early in 1530 a vast army SNvcpt down through the 
mountain passes and made toward the ancient capital. 
The three Pizarros, Hernando, Juan and Gonzalo, 
put themselves at the head of their horsemen and salHed 
out to meet them. They killed numbers of Peruvians, 
but all their valor cctuld not check the resistless force 
of the patriotic armv. The Spaniards were swept 
back into the citv, glad to escape with their lives before 
such overwhelming numbers; indeed, only a timelv 
attack bv a detachment in the rear of the Peruvians 
saved them from destruction then and there. Cuzco 
Vk"as at once invested. The Indians, with a heroism 
which cannot be too greatly commended, endeavored 
to carry the place by assault.* 

They set hre to the thatched roofs of their own 
houses, devoting their city to flames, like the Russians 
at Moscow, to compass the annihilation of the detested 
invaders. Fhe wind favored them, and a besom of 
flame swept over the devoted town until over one-half 
of it was laid in ruins. There were ninety Spanish 
horse in the city, probably as many foot, and a thou- 
sand Indian auxiharies. but they were soldiers of the 
highest quality and led by three captains whose like 
for daring and skill are not often seen. 

No one ever questioned the courage or the military 
ability of the Pi/arros and cenainly they exhibited 
both qualities in full measure during the siege. Of 
all the brothers, it is probable that Hernando was the 
most daring cavalier as well as the most capable cap- 
tain, although in personal prowess his younger brothers 
were not a whit behind him. Indeed. Gonzalo was 

* Q\imt: Does tlw reader not \risli that the IVruvians hid succeeded ? Indeed, 
hovr can the reader hdp wishing that r Yet vrvuld it have been better for the vrorld 
if the Peuivians had succeeded in exr<eUinj the Spaniards, c\r \i-v>uld it have been 
wv>rse ? These questions atfvjrd matter tvsr interesting speculation. 




"ThcTIuxc l'i/.;ni()s . . . Siillicd Out: to .Meet 'I'licin " 



Peru and the Pizarros 97 

reckoned as the best lance in the New World. Stifled 
by the smoke, scorched by the flames, parched with 
heat, choked with thirst, exhausted with hunger, 
crazed from loss of sleep, yet battling with the energy 
of despair against overwhelming numbers of Indians, 
who, with a reckless disregard for life, hurled themselves 
upon the sword-points, the Spaniards after several 
days of the most terrific fighting, were forced into the 
square, which they held against their enemy by dint 
of the most heroic and continuous endeavors. 

The Peruvians barricaded the streets with the 
debris of their ruined houses and sharpened stakes, 
and prepared to press home for a final attack. Although 
the slaughter among the Indians had been fearful, 
the odds against the Spaniards did not appear dimin- 
ished, for it was learned afterward that there were 
more than one hundred thousand warriors engaged, 
and, with a host of followers and servants, the total 
aggregated at least eighty thousand more. And, 
indeed, the Spaniards mourned the death of many a 
brave cavalier and stout man-at-arms. In all the 
fighting the young Inca, in full war-gear of gold and 
silver, mounted on a captured horse, with a Spanish 
lance in his hand, had played a hero's dauntless part. 

At the commencement of the siege there had been a 
discussion as to whether they should occupy the great 
fortress of Sacsahuaman, or not. Juan Pizarro had 
dissuaded the Spanish from the attempt, for, he said: 
"Our forces are too weak to hold both places. The 
city is the most important, and should it happen that 
we need the fortress we can take it any time." With- 
out opposition the Indian High Priest had occupied 
it with a large body of men. 

It was evident, at last, that the Spaniards would 



98 South American Fights and Fighters 

either have to retreat from their town or seize the 
fortress, which, now that they had been driven from 
the walls, commanded their position in the square. 
Most of the cavaHers were for retreat. There is no 
doubt that the horse could certainly have cut their 
way through the ranks of the besiegers, and have 
escaped, together %N'ith most of the foot as well. 

Hernando was quite as persistent as his indomitable 
brother Francisco, however, and he talked equally 
as well to the soldiers. He made them a stirring 
address which he closed by declaring that he had been 
sent there to hold the town, and hold it he would if he 
had to hold it alone; that he would rather die there in 
the square with the consciousness that he had kept his 
trust than abandon the place. Juan and Gonzalo 
seconded his stirring appeal. It was resolved that the 
fortress should be taken. Hernando proposed to lead 
the assault in person, but Juan interposed \srith the 
remark that he had objected to its seizure in the first 
instance, and to him rightfully belonged the leader- 
ship of the forlorn hope to repair the error. Hernando 
consented. 

Juan and Gonzalo, with their commands and fifty of 
their best horse, were detailed for the purpose. By 
Hernando's instructions they cut through the Indians 
and galloped headlong down the road in the direction 
of Lima. The Indians were deceived bv the seem- 
ing dash of the horsemen through the lines and, sup- 
posing them to be in retreat, turned their attention to 
the Spaniards left in the square. The conflict which 
had been intermitted for a space began again with the 
utmost fury. 

In the midst of it, Juan Pizarro, who had galloped 
about a league from the town and then made a long 



Peru and the Pizarros 99 

detour, suddenly appeared at Sacsahuaman. The 
Spaniards immediately rushed to the assault. This 
diversion caused the Indians, who had been literally 
forcing the Spaniards in the town up against the wall, 
and in the last ditch, as it were, to give ground. There- 
upon the dauntless Hernando charged upon them, 
drove them out of the square, and succeeded in estab- 
lishing communications with Juan and Gonzalo on the 
hill. He directed Juan to hold his position and make 
no attack, but Juan thought he saw an opportunity to 
gain the fortress, and at vespers the Spaniards rushed 
at the walls. 

There were Indians not only within but without the 
walls, and the fighting was soon of the most sanguinary 
description. Juan Pizarro had been wounded pre- 
viously in a skirmish and on account of this wound 
was unable to wear his morion. Hernando had 
especially cautioned him to be careful on this account; 
but the impetuous valor of the Pizarros was not to be 
restrained by considerations of any personal safety, 
and Juan was in the front rank of the storming party. 
They had cut their way through to the fort and were 
battling for entrance when a stone hurled from the 
tower struck Juan in the head, knocking him sense- 
less. The wound was of such a character that two 
weeks afterward he died of it in great agony. He 
was the first to pay the penalty. History has pre- 
served little concerning him, but some chroniclers have 
found him the highest-minded of the brothers — pos- 
sibly because less is known about him! At any rate, 
he was a valiant soldier. 

Gonzalo succeeded to the leadership, and although 
he and his men fought heroically, they were at last 
forced back from the fortress in spite of the fact that 



loo South American Fights and Fighters 

they had gained the outer walls. The fighting had 
transferred itself from the city to the hills, which was 
a sad tactical error on the part of the Peruvians, for 
they had force enough to overwhelm Hernando and 
his men in the city, while they held Juan and Gonzalo 
in play at Sacsahuaman, in which case all the Span- 
iards would eventually have fallen into their hands. 

As night fell Hernando left the city and came up to 
the hill. The Spaniards busied themselves in making 
scaling-ladders, and in the morning, with the aid of the 
ladders, the assault was resumed with desperate fury. 
Wall after wall was carried, and finally the fighting 
ranged around the citadel. The Inca had sent five 
thousand of his best men to reenforce the defenders, 
but the Spaniards succeeded in preventing their 
entrance to the fort which was now in a sorry plight. 
The ammunition — arrows, spears, stone, et cetera — 
of the garrison was almost spent. The Spanish attack 
was pressed as rigorously as at the beginning. The 
High Priest — priests have ever been among the first 
to incite people to war, and among the first to aban- 
don the field of battle — fled with a great majority of 
his followers, and escaped by subterranean passages 
from the citadel, leaving but a few defenders to do 
or die. 

First among them was a chief, whose name, unfor- 
tunately, has not been preserved. He was one of 
those, however, who had drunk of the cup and pledged 
himself in the mountains of Yucay. Driven from wall 
to wall and from tower to tower, he and his followers 
made a heroic defense. The Spanish chroniclers say 
that when this hero, whose exploits recall the half- 
mvthical legends o'l the early Roman Republic, when 
men were as demi-gods, saw one of his men falter, he 



Peru and the Pizarros loi 

stabbed him and threw his body upon the Spaniards. 
At last he stood alone upon the last tower. The 
assailants offered him quarter, which he disdained. 
Shouting his war-cry of defiance, he dashed his sole 
remaining weapon in the faces of the escaladers and 
then hurled himself bodily upon them to die on their 
sword-points. Let him be remembered as a soldier, 
a patriot, and a gentleman. 

The fortress was gained! Dismayed by the fearful 
loss that they had sustained, the Peruvians, who had 
fought so valiantly, if so unsuccessfully, withdrew 
temporarily. Hernando Pizarro was master of the 
situation. He employed the few days of respite given 
him in gathering supplies and strengthening his posi- 
tion. It was well that he did so, for in a short time the 
Peruvians once more appeared around the city, to 
which they laid a regular siege. 

There was more sharp fighting, but nothing like the 
Homeric combats of the first investment. The Peru- 
vians had risen all over the land. Detached parties 
of Spaniards had been cut off without mercy. Fran- 
cisco Pizarro was besieged in Lima. Messengers and 
ships were despatched in every direction, craving 
assistance. Francisco did not know what had hap- 
pened in Cuzco, and the brothers in that city began 
to despair of their being extricated from their terrible 
predicament. Help came to them from an unex- 
pected source. 

We left Almagro marching toward Chili. His was 
no lovely promenade through a pleasant, smiling, fer-* 
tile, wealthy land. He traversed vast deserts under 
burning skies. He climbed lofty mountains in freez- 
ing cold and found nothing. In despair, he turned 
back to Peru. The limits assigned to Pizarro were 



I02 South American Fights and Fighters 

not clear. Almagro claimed that the city of Cuzco 
was within his province, and determined to return 
and take it. On the way his little army, under the com- 
mand of a very able soldier named Orgonez, met and 
defeated a large army of Peruvians. This, taken with 
the arrival of the harvest time, which must of neces- 
sity be gathered if the people were not to starve, caused 
the subsequent dissipation of the Peruvian army. The 
Inca maintained a fugitive court in the impregnable 
and secret fastnesses of the mountains, but the Peru- 
vians never gave any more trouble to the Spaniards. 
They had spent themselves in this one fierce but futile 
blow. I am glad for the sake of their manhood that at 
least they had fought one great battle for their lands 
and liberties. 

VII. "The Men of ChiH" and the Civil Wars 

Almagro, assisted by treachery on the part of some 
of the Spaniards w^ho hated the Pizarros, made him- 
self master of the city, and, breaking his plighted word, 
seized Hernando and Gonzalo. 

Meanwhile Francisco, the Marquis, had despatched 
a certain captain named Alvarado with a force to relieve 
Cuzco. Almagro marched out with his army and 
defeated the superior force of Alvarado in the battle 
of Abancay, in July, 1537, in which, through the 
generalship of Orgonez, Alvarado's troops were cap- 
tured with little or no loss in Almagro's army. Almagro 
had left Gonzalo Pizarro behind in Cuzco, but had 
taken Hernando, heavily guarded, with him. Orgonez 
had urged Almagro to put both of them to death. 
"Dead men," he pithily remarked, "need no guards.** 
On the principle of " In for a penny, in for a pound,** 




"He Threw His Sole Remaining Weapon b the Faces- of the 
Escaladers " 



Peru and the Pizarros 103 

Almagro was already deep enough In the bad graces of 
Francisco Pizarro, and he might as well be in deeper 
than he was, especially as the execution of Hernando 
would remove his worst enemy. But Almagro does 
not appear to have been an especially cruel man. He 
was an easy-going, careless, jovial, pleasure-loving 
soldier, and he spared the lives of the two brothers. 
Gonzalo escaped, and assembling a force, immediately 
took the field. 

There had been a meeting between Francisco and 
Almagro. The latter got an inkling that there was 
treachery intended, and though the meeting had begun 
with embraces and tears, it was broken off abruptly 
and both the ancient partners prepared for an appeal to 
arms. Almagro had released Hernando on his promise 
to return immediately to Spain. This promise Her- 
nando broke. Francisco made his brother com- 
mander of the army, and the forces of the two com- 
manders met on the plains of Salinas on the 6th of 
April, 1538. 

There were about seven hundred on one side, 
Pizarro's, and five hundred on the other, equally 
divided between horse and foot, with a few pieces of 
artillery in both armies. The men of Chili, as Alma- 
gro's forces were called, hated their former comrades, 
and Pizarro's men returned this feeling with such anim- 
osities as are engendered nowhere save in civil war. 
Victory finally attended Hernando Pizarro. He had 
fought in the ranks like a common soldier, save that 
he had been at great pains so to distinguish himself by 
his apparel that every one could know him, so that all 
who sought him could find him. Orgonez was slain 
as he lay on the ground, wounded. Such was the close, 
fierce fighting that the killed alone numbered nearly 



I04 South American Fights and Fighters 

two hundred, besides a proportionately greater num- 
ber wounded. 

Almagro had watched the battle from an adjacent hill. 
He was old and ill, broken down from excesses and 
dissipations. Unable to sit a horse, he had been car- 
ried thither on a litter. The sight of his routed army 
admonished him to try to escape. With great pain 
and difficulty he got upon a horse, but being pur- 
sued, the animal stumbled and Almagro fell to the 
ground. Some of Pizarro's men were about to dispatch 
him when Hernando interfered. He was taken pris- 
oner to Cuzco and held in captivity for a while. Her- 
nando had announced his intention of sending him to 
Spain for trial, but a conspiracy to effect his release, 
in which was our old friend De Candia, caused a 
change in his purposes. Almagro was tried on charges 
which were easily trumped up, was found guilty, of 
course, and in spite of his protestations and piteous 
appeals for life, he was strangled to death at night 
in his prison on the 8th of July, 1538, in the sixty- 
fifth year of his life. His head was then struck from 
his shoulders and both were exhibited in the great 
square at Cuzco. Vainglorious, ignorant, incompetent, 
yet cheerful, generous, frank, kindly and open-hearted, 
and badly treated by Pizarro and his brothers, he pos- 
sibly deserved a better fate. 

The Pizarro brothers affected to be overcome by the 
stern necessity which compelled poor Almagro's exe- 
cution. As Francisco had done when he had killed 
Atahualpa, these two put on mourning and insisted 
upon being pall-bearers, and exhibited every out- 
ward manifestation of deep and abiding grief. 

Almagro left a son, Diego, by an Indian woman, to 
whom he had not been married. This young man 



Peru and the Pizarros 105 

was under the guardianship of Pizarro at Lima. The 
sword of Damocles hung over his head for a while, 
but he was spared eventually and, the rebellion of 
Almagro having been cut down, the revolt of the Inca 
crushed, peace appeared once more to dwell in the 
land. 

VIII. The Mean End of the Great Conquistador 

But fate had not finished with the Pizarros as yet. 
Hernando was sent back to Spain to explain the situa- 
tion, and Gonzalo despatched to Quito, of which 
province he was made governor. He had instructions 
to explore the country eastward to see if he could find 
another Peru. He made a marvelous march to the 
head-waters of the Amazon River, where he was deserted 
by one of his commanders, Orellana, who built a 
brigantine, sailed down the whole length of the Amazon, 
finally reaching Europe, while Gonzalo and those few 
of his wretched followers who survived the terrible 
hardships of that march, struggled back to Quito. 

Francisco, the Marquis, was thus left alone in Peru. 
The position of the men of Chili was precarious. 
Although outwardly things were peaceful, yet they 
felt that at any time Pizarro might institute war against 
them. They got the young Almagro away from him, 
and a score of men under Juan de Rada, a stout- 
hearted veteran, mercenary soldier, determined to^put 
the Marquis to death and proclaim the young Almagro 
as Lord and Dictator of Peru. 

On Sunday afternoon, the 26th of June, 1541, De 
Rada and nineteen desperate men of Chili, met at 
De Rada's house in Lima. Pizarro had received a 
number of warnings which he had neglected, confident 



io6 South American Fights and Fighters 

in the security of his position, but the existence of 
the conspiracy had been brought home to him with 
pecuhar force that Sunday, and he had remained in 
his palace at Lima surrounded by a number of gentle- 
men devoted to his cause. At vespers — which seems 
to have been a favorite hour for nefarious deeds among 
the Spaniards — the assassins sallied forth from the 
home of De Rada and started for the palace. 

Such was the indifference in which the people held 
the squabbles between the Pizarrists and the Almagrists, 
that it was casually remarked by many of them, as the 
assassins proceeded through the streets, that they were 
probably on their way to kill the governor. The 
governor was at supper on the second floor of his 
palace. There was a sudden tumult in the square 
below. The door was forced open and the Almagrists, 
shouting "Death to Pizarro!" rushed for the stairs. 
Most of the noble company with the old Marquis fled. 
The great conquistador at least had no thought of 
flight. There remained \\Tith him, however, two pages, 
his brother Martin de Alcantara, Francisco de Chaves, 
one of the immortal thirteen of Gallo, and another 
cavalier, named De Luna. 

As they heard the clash o^ arms on the stairs and 
the shouting of the assailants, the Marquis ordered 
De Chaves to close the door; then he sprang to the 
wall, tore from it his corselet and endeavored to 
buckle it on his person. De Chaves unwisely attempted 
to parley, instead of closing the door and barring it. 
The assailants forced the entrance, cut down DeChaves, 
and burst into the room. Pizarro gave over the attempt 
to fasten his breastplate, and seizing a sword and 
spear, defended himself stoutly while pealing his war- 
cry: "Santiago!" through the palace. The two pages, 



Peru and the Pizarros 107 

fighting valiantly, were soon cut down. De Alcan- 
tara and De Luna were also killed, and finally, Pizarro, 
an old man over seventy years of age, stood alone before 
the murderers. 

Such was the wonderful address of the sword play with 
which he defended himself that the conspirators were 
at a loss how to take him, until De Rada, ruthlessly 
seizing one of his comrades, pitilessly thrust him upon 
Pizarro*s sword-point, and, before the old man could 
withdraw the weapon, cut him in the throat with his 
sword. Instantly Pizarro was struck by a dozen 
blades. He fell back upon the floor, but he was not 
yet dead, and with his own blood he marked a cross on 
the stones. It is alleged by some that he asked for a 
confessor, but that is hardly likely, for as he bent his 
head to press his lips upon the cross, one of the mur- 
derers, seizing a huge stone bowl, or earthen vessel, 
threw it upon his head and killed him. Sic transit 
Pizarro! 

If he has been the subject of much severe censure, 
he has not lacked, especially of late, zealous defenders. 
I have endeavored to treat him fairly in these sketches. 
Considering him in comparison with his contempo- 
raries, Cortes surpassed him in ability, Hernando in 
executive capacity, Almagro in generosity, Balboa in 
gallantry, and De Soto in courtesy. On the other 
hand, he was inferior to none of them in bravery and 
resolution, and he made up for his lack of other quali- 
ties by a terrible and unexampled persistency. Noth- 
ing could swerve him from his determination. He had 
a faculty of rising to each successive crisis which con- 
fronted him, wresting victory from the most adverse 
circumstances in a way worthy of the highest admira- 
tion. He was not so cruel as Pedrarias, but he was 



io8 South American Fights and Fighters 

ruthless enough and his fame is forever stained by 
atrocities and treacheries from which no personal 
or public success can redeem it. In passing judg- 
ment upon him, account must be taken of the humble 
circumstances of his early life, his lack of decent, healthy 
environment, his neglected vouth, his total ignorance 
of polite learning. Take him all in all, in some things 
he was better and in other things no worse than his 
day and generation. 

IX. The Last oi' the Brethren 

Hernando Pizarro was delayed on his voyage to 
Spain and some of xA.lmagro's partisans got the ear of 
the King before he arrived. He was charged \\4th 
having permitted bv his carelessness the Peruvian upris- 
ing and having unlawfully taken the life of Almagro. 
The storv of his desperate defense of Cusco was unavail- 
ing to mitigate the anger of the King at the anarchy 
and confusion — and incidentally the diminution of 
the roval revenue — which prevailed in Peru. Her- 
nando was thrown into prison at Medina, and kept 
there for twentv-three long and weary years. 

He had married his own niece, Francisca Pizarro, 
illegitimate daughter oi the Marquis Francisco, bv a 
daughter of the great Inca, Huayna Capac. The 
woman was a half-sister ot' Atahualpa and Huascar. 
Bv this questionable means, the family of the Pizarros, 
with certain dignities, restored for their Peruvian 
service, was perpetuated in Spain. Hernando died 
at the age of one hundred and tour. 

De Rada, after the assassination of Francisco, 
assembled the ancient partisans of Almagro. They 
swore fealt}' to the young Almagro, and immediately 



Peru and the Pizarros 109 

took the field against a new governor sent out by 
Charles V. to take charge of affairs in Peru. This 
Vaca de Castro, through his able lieutenants, Alvarado 
and Carvajal, defeated the forces of Almagro on the 
bloody and desperately fought field of Chapus, took 
the young man prisoner to Cuzco, and beheaded him 
forthwith. He met his death bravely, without beseech- 
ing or repining. Before the fate of the battle was 
decided, Almagro, suspecting that the gunner, De 
Candia, another of the thirteen who had adhered to 
his cause, was not serving his artillery with so good 
effect as he might, ran him through the body. 

There remains but one of the brothers who gave 
Peru to Spain, the magnificent cavalier, Gonzalo. 
His fate may be briefly summarized. Another Vice- 
roy, named Blasco Nunez Vela, succeeded De Castro. 
He had orders to release the Peruvians from servitude, 
which meant that the conquerors and the thousands 
who had come after, would have been compelled to 
work. Led by Gonzalo, who had been rewarded for 
his services in the rebellion against Almagro by a 
domain in Peru which included the newly discovered 
mines of Potosi, which provided him with the sinews 
of war, the people rebelled against the Viceroy. Pizarro 
and his lieutenant, Carvajal, deposed and defeated the 
Viceroy in a battle near Quito on the i8th of January, 
1546, the latter losing his life. 

Gonzalo Pizarro was now the supreme lord of Peru, 
which included practically the whole of the South 
American coast from the Isthmus of Darien to the 
Straits of Magellan, for Valdivia, one of Francisco 
Pizarro's lieutenants, had partially conquered Chili 
at last. 

The Spanish monarch, three thousand miles away. 



no South American Fights and Fighters 

could do nothing by force. He sent an able and 
devoted ecclesiastic, Gasca bv name, clothing him 
with dictatorial powers, to see what he could do. Gasca 
arrived at Panama, cunningly and tactfully won the 
captains of Gonzalo's navy to his side, went to Peru, 
assembled a force, and although Centeno, one oi' his 
lieutenants, was badly defeated by Gonzalo and 
Carvajal on the 26th of October, 1547, at Huarina, 
the bloodiest battle ever fought in Peru, hnally gained 
strength enough to march to Cuzco, where Gonzalo 
had command of a large and splendidh" equipped 
army. Gasca, bv promising that the obnoxious laws 
concerning the Indians should be repealed, and adroitly 
pointing out that those who adhered to Gonzalo were, 
in effect, in rebellion against their sovereign, had so 
undermined the allegiance of his men that Gonzalo, 
who had marched to the Valley of Xaquixaguana, 
found himself deserted on the eve oi the battle by all 
but a handful of faithful retainers. 

"\Miat shall we do.^'* asked one o{ the devoted 
followers. 

" Fall on them and die like Romans." 

"I believe I should prefer to die like a Christian," 
said Gonzalo calmly. 

Recognizing that it was all up N^th him, riding for- 
ward with Carvajal and the rest, he coolly surrendered 
himself to Gasca. 

Carvajal was hung, drawn and quartered. 

Gonzalo, the last oi' the brothers, was beheaded in 
the great square at Cuzco. He was magnificently 
arrayed as he rode to his death. His vast estates, 
including the mines of Potosi, had been confiscated 
and all his possessions were on his back. He met 
his fate ^^-ith the courage of the family. Before he 



Peru and the Pizarros in 

died he made a little address from the scaffold. Con- 
trasting his present poverty with his former state, he 
asked those who had been his friends and who owed 
him anything, and also those who had been his enemies, 
to lay out some of the treasure they had gained through 
his family and himself in masses for the repose of his 
soul. Then he knelt down before a table bearing 
a crucifix, and prayed silently. At last he turned to 
the executioner and said: 

" Do your duty with a steady hand ! " 

So he made a rather dramatic and picturesque exit 
there in the square at Cuzco, on that sunny morning in 
-April, 1548. His head was exhibited at Lima with that 
of Carvajal. To it was attached this inscription: 

"This is the head of the traitor, Gonzalo Pizarro, 
who rebelled in Peru against his sovereign and battled 
against the royal standard at the Valley of Xaqui- 
xaguana.'* 

There remains but one other person whose fate 
excites a passing interest, unless it be Bishop Valverde, 
who was killed, while on a journey, by the Peruvians, 
some years before; this is the last Inca, Manco Capac. 
When De Rada and his band started out to assassinate 
Pizarro, one of the soldiers, named Gomez Perez, 
made a detour as they crossed the square, to keep 
from getting his feet wet in a puddle of muddy water 
which had overflowed from one of the conduits. 

"You shrink," cried De Rada, in contempt, "from 
wetting your feet, who are about to wade in the blood 
of the governor! Go back, we will have none of you.'* 

He had not permitted Perez to take part in the 
assassination. This Perez, after the final defeat of 
the Almagrists, fled to the mountains where Manco 
still exercised a fugitive sway over such of his people 



112 South American Fights and Fighters 

as could escape the Spaniards. He was afterward 
pardoned and used as a medium of communication 
between Gasca and the Inca. The priest viceroy was 
anxious to be at peace with the Inca, but Manco refused 
to trust himself to the Spaniards. 

Perez and he were phiving bowls one day in the 
mountains. Perez either cheated, or in some way 
incensed the unfortunate Inca, who peremptorily 
reproved him, whereupon the Spaniard, in a tit of pas- 
sion, hurled his heavy stone bowl at the last of the 
Incas, and killed him. That was the end of Perez, 
also, for the attendants of the young Inca stabbed him 
to death. 

Thus all those who had borne a prominent part in 
the great adventures had gone to receive such cer- 
tain reward as they merited; which reward was not 
counted out to them in the form of gold and silver, or 
stones of price. The sway in the new land of the king 
over the sea was absolute at last, and there was peace, 
such as it was, in Peru. 



Part I 

SOUTH AMERICAN FIGHTS 
AND FIGHTERS 

IV 

The Greatest Adventure in History 



The Greatest Adventure in History 

I. The Chief of all the Soldiers of Fortune 

l^T the close of the fifteenth century, to be 
ZJk exact, in the year 1500, in the town of 
X JL Painala, in the Province of Coatzacualco, 
one of the feudatory divisions of the great Aztec 
empire of Mexico, there w2ls born a young girl 
who was destined to exercise upon the fortunes of her 
country an influence as great as it was baleful, as 
wonderful as it was unfortunate. She was the daughter 
of the Cacique of Tenepal, who was Lord of the town 
and province, a feoff of the Mexican Emperor Monte- 
zuma Xocoyotzin. This was the second Montezuma 
who had occupied the imperial throne and his last 
name means "The Younger," which he adopted to 
distinguish him from his predecessor in the empire. 

This Lord of Painala, whose name has been for- 
gotten, unfortunately for his country departed this 
life soon after the birth of his daughter, who was 
called Malinal because she was born on the twelfth 
day of the month, her name indicating that fact. His 
property naturally devolved upon the young daughter. 
Her mother assumed the office of guardian and regent 
of the state. This lady, whose name has also been 
lost in oblivion, did not long remain single. After 
her second marriage, which apparently took place 
with a somewhat indecent hurry, there was born to 

"5 



ii6 South American Fights and Fighters 

her and her new consort, a young son. To secure 
to this son the inheritance, she sold her Httle daughter, 
too young to reaHze the unfortunate transaction, 
to some traders of Xicalango, who in turn disposed 
of her to a coast tribe of Aztecs called the Tabascans. 
She lived in bondage with the Tabascans until she 
was nineteen years old. She developed into a woman 
of rare beauty and unusual intellect. Something of the 
power of high birth was evidently hers, for she escaped 
the degrading servitude of the time, and was carefully 
trained and prepared for some higher purpose. This 
girl was to be the instrument of the downfall of her 
native land. 

Now it happened that when Malinal was nineteen 
years old, the rumor of a strange visitation ran up 
and down the shore among the people who dwelt upon 
the great Gulf of Mexico. Some remarkable beings, 
the like of whom had never been seen or heard of 
within the memory of living man, in some remarkable 
boats which absolutely transcended the imagination 
of the Aztecs, had been seen upon the coast and some 
of them had landed at different points. Also there had 
sifted, from the south, from the Isthmus of Darien 
and the Panama States, some account of these white- 
skinned demi-gods. Just enough rumor was current 
to cause alarm and uneasiness in the Aztec Empire 
when the attention of the rulers was called to some 
definite facts. 

On Good Friday, March 23, 1519, the dreaded and 
expected happened, for there landed at what is now 
the city of Vera Cruz, in the territory of the Tabascans, 
vassals of Montezuma, a party of these strange adven- 
turers. They were led by a man of mature years, 
whose name was Fernando Cortes — sometimes written 




Fernando Cortes. 
From a Picture in the Florence Gallery 



The Greatest Adventure in History 117 

Hernando Cortes. Like Pizarro, whose history has 
been related, he was from the forgotten province of 
Estremadura. He was born in the year 1485, in the 
city of MedelHn, He was seven years old when 
Columbus set sail upon that epoch-making voyage 
of discovery and he was thirty-four when he set foot 
for the first time on the shores of Mexico. In the 
intervening years much interesting and valuable expe- 
rience had been enjoyed. 

The parents of Cortes belonged to the provincial 
nobility. They were worthy and respectable subjects 
of the King of Spain. The old-fashioned adjectives, 
"poor, but honest" could be applied to them. The 
boy was a puny, sickly lad, whom they scarcely expected 
to reach man's estate. When he was fourteen years 
old they entered him in the great University of Sala- 
manca where he took his degree as Bachelor of Laws, 
after a two years' course. The law, in Spain, was 
considered an entirely proper profession for the nobility, 
especially when the nobility were unable, through 
narrow circumstances, properly to support the profes- 
sion of arms. Cortes, therefore, was in receipt of a 
hberal education for his day. His letters, some of 
which will be- quoted hereafter, are evidences of his 
mental training. In some respects they are as interest- 
ing as are the famous Commentaries of Julius Caesar. 

The young man, whose constitution improved as he 
grew older, until he eventually became the hardiest, 
most enduring and bravest of his company, which 
included the most intrepid men of the age, had no love 
for the humdrum profession of law. He desired to go 
to Italy and take service with Gonsalvo de Cordova, 
who is remembered, when he is remembered at all, 
as "The Great Captain"; but sickness prevented. 



ii8 South American Fights and Fighters 

Following that, his thoughts turned, as did those of 
so many Spanish youths who were of an adventurous 
disposition, toward the New World. After many set- 
backs, one of which was caused by a wound received 
by the hot-blooded young man while engaged in a love 
affair, and which left a permanent scar upon his upper 
lip, he finally landed at Santo Domingo in the Spring 
of 1504. From there he went to Cuba and served 
under one Diego Velasquez, the governor of that 
province in some fierce fighting in the island, and 
received as a reward from the governor, who was 
much attached to him, a large plantation with a number 
of Indians to work it. There he married and lived 
prosperously. What he had done before he arrived 
in Mexico counted little. What he did afterward 
gave him eternal fame as one, if not the greatest, of 
the conquerors and soldiers of fortune in all history. 
Sir Arthur Helps thus portrays him: 

"Cortes," he says, *'vvas an heroic adventurer, a 
very politic statesman, and an admirable soldier. He 
was cruel at times in conduct, but not in disposition; 
he was sincerely religious, profoundly dissembling, 
courteous, liberal, amorous, decisive. There was a 
certain grandeur in all his proceedings. He was 
fertile in resources; and, while he looked forward, he 
was at the same time almost madly audacious in his 
enterprises. This strange mixture of valor, religion, 
policy, and craft, was a peculiar product of the century. 
. . . There are two main points in his character 
which I shall dwell upon at the outset. These are 
his soldier-like qualities and his cruelty. As a com- 
mander, the only fault imputed to him, was his reckless- 
ness in exposing himself to the dangers of personal 
conflict with the enemy. But then, that is an error 



The Greatest Adventure in History 119 

to be commonly noticed even in the greatest generals 
of that period; and Cortes, with this singular dexterity 
in arms, was naturally prone to fall into this error. 
As regards his peculiar qualifications as a commander, 
it may be observed, that, great as he was in carrying 
out large and difficult operations in actual warfare, 
he was not less so in attending to those minute details 
upon which so much of the efficiency of troops depends. 
His companion-in-arms, Bernal Diaz, says of him, 
*He would visit the hut of every soldier, see that his 
arms were ready at hand, and that he had his shoes on. 
Those whom he found had neglected anything in this 
way he severely reprimanded, and compared them to 
mangy sheep, whose own wool is too heavy for them.' 

"I have said that he was cruel in conduct, but not 
in disposition. This statement requires explanation. 
Cortes was a man who always determined to go through 
with the thing he had once resolved to do. Human 
beings, if they came in his way, were to be swept out 
of it, like any other material obstacles. He desired 
no man's death, but if people would come between 
him and success, they must bear the consequences. 
He did not particularly value human life. The ideas 
of the nineteenth century in that respect were unknown 
to him. He had come to conquer, to civilize, to convert 
(for he was really a devout man from his youth upward; 
and, as his chaplain takes care to tell us, knew many 
prayers and psalms of the choir by heart; and the lives 
of thousands of barbarians, for so he deemed them, 
were of no account in the balance of his mind, when 
set against the great objects he had in view. In saying 
this, I am not apologizing for this cruelty; I am only 
endeavoring to explain it. 

"Of all the generals who have been made known 



I20 South American Fights and Fighters 

to us in history, or by fiction, Claverhouse, as repre- 
sented by Sir Walter Scott, most closely resembles 
Cortes. Both of them thorough gentlemen, very 
dignified, very nice and precise in all their ways and 
habits, they were sadly indifferent to the severity of 
the means by which they compassed their ends; and 
bloody deeds sat easily, for the most part, upon their 
well-bred natures. I make these comments once for 
all; and shall hold myself excused from making further 
comments of a like nature when any of the cruelties 
of Cortes come before us — cruelties which one must 
ever deeply deplore on their own account, and bitterly 
regret as ineffaceable strains upon the fair fame and 
memory of a very great man. . . . The con- 
quest of Mexico could hardly have been achieved at 
this period under any man of less genius than that 
which belonged to Hernando Cortes. And even 
his genius w^ould probably not have attempted the 
achievement, or would have failed in it, but for a singu- 
lar concurrence of good and evil fortune, which con- 
tributed much to the ultimate success of his enterprise. 
Great difficulties and fearful conflicts of fortune not 
only stimulate to great attempts, but absolutely create 
the opportunities for them." 

II. The Expedition to Mexico. 

Reports brought back to Cuba by one Juan de 
Grijilva, who told of the populous and wealthy cities 
of the main land to the westward of Cuba, induced 
Velasquez to fit out an expedition for exploration, 
colonization or whatever might turn up. Casting 
about among his friends, followers, and acquaintances 
for a suitable leader, his choice after some hesitation 



The Greatest Adventure in History 121 

devolved upon Cortes. This nascent captain had not 
lived at the provincial court of Velasquez without 
impressing his characteristics upon those with whom 
he came in contact. After the outfitting of the expedi- 
tion had progressed considerably, Velasquez was 
warned that Cortes was of too high and resolved a 
spirit to be trusted with an independent command, 
and it was probable that upon this opportunity he 
would disregard his instructions and act for his own 
interests, without giving another thought to Velasquez 
and his backers. 

Velasquez ignored the suggestions that he displace 
Cortes until it was too late. Cortes, learning that his 
enemies were undermining him with the governor, 
hastily completed his preparations and set sail a short 
time in advance of the arrival of the order displacing 
him from the command. His little squadron touched 
at a point in Cuba and was there overtaken by the miss- 
ive from Velasquez, which Cortes absolutely disregarded. 
He had embarked his property and had persuaded his 
friends to invest and did not propose to be displaced 
by anybody or anything. 

The expedition consisted of eleven ships. The 
flag was a small caravel of one hundred tons burden. 
There were three others of eighty tons each, and the 
seven remaining were small, undecked brigantines. 
Authorities vary as to the number of men in the 
expedition, but there were between five hundred and 
fifty and six hundred Spaniards, two hundred Indian 
servants, ten small pieces of artillery, four falconets 
and sixteen horses. 

The truth must be admitted. There were three 
factors which contributed to the downfall of that vast 
empire against which this expedition of adventurers 



122 South American Fights and Fighters 

was launched. One of them was Cortes himself, 
the second was Malinal, and the third was the sixteen, 
doubtless sorry horses, loaded into the ships. Fiske 
says: 

"It was not enough that the Spanish soldier of that 
day was a bulldog for strength and courage, or that 
his armor was proof against stone arrows and lances, 
or that he wielded a Toledo blade that could cut through 
silken cushions, or that his arquebus and cannon were 
not only death-dealing weapons but objects of super- 
stitious awe. More potent than all else together were 
those frightful monsters, the horses. Before these 
animals men, women, and children fled like sheep, 
or skulked and peeped from behind their walls in an 
ecstasy of terror. It was that paralyzing, blood- 
curdling fear of the supernatural, against which no 
amount of physical bravery, nothing in the world but 
modern knowledge, is of the slightest avail." 

After touching at various places, in one of which they 
were lucky enough to find and release a Spanish captive 
named Geronimo de Aguilar, who had been wrecked 
on the Yucatan coast while on a voyage from the 
Spanish settlement in Darien and had been taken 
captive by the Mayas and held for several years. The 
hospitable Mayas had eaten most of the expedition. 
There were then but two alive. One had renounced 
his religion, married a Maya woman, and had been 
elected chieftain of the tribe, and accordingly refused 
to join Cortes. Aguilar was unfettered and glad of 
the opportunity. During his sojourn among the 
Mayas he had learned to speak their language fluently. 

After landing at Tabasco on Good Friday, there 
was a great battle with the warlike inhabitants of that 
section, a battle which resulted in the complete dis- 



The Greatest Adventure in History 123 

comfiture of the Tabascans. The artillery did much 
to bring this about, but was not especially terrifying to 
the aborigines because they crowded in such numbers 
around the Spaniards, and made such terrific outcries, 
beating on their drums the while, that they drowned 
out the noise of the cannonade; but when Cortes at 
the head of the horsemen sallied out from the woods, 
and fell upon them, the strange, terrifying spectacle 
presented by these mail-clad monsters and demons, 
took the heart out of the Tabascans, and they aban- 
doned the contest, leaving, so the chroniclers say, 
countless numbers dead upon the field. 

They knew when they had had enough, and immedi- 
ately thereafter, they sued for peace. Cortes was 
graciously pleased to grant their request, and to accept 
as a peace-offering a score of slaves. Among them 
was Malinal. In the allotment of the slaves among 
the officers, she fell to the share of Alonzo de Puerto 
Carrero from whom Cortes speedily acquired her. 

Of all the Indians present with Cortes, Malinal 
alone could speak two languages. The Tabascans 
spoke a sort of degenerate Maya, with which, as she 
had lived among them so long, she was of course 
perfectly familiar, at the same time she had not forgotten 
her native Mexican. It would have been impossible 
for Cortes to have communicated with the Mexicans 
without Malinal, for Aguilar could turn Spanish into 
Maya, and Malinal could turn Maya into Mexican. 
This means of communication, round about though it 
might be, was at once established. The intervention 
of Aguilar soon became unnecessary, for Malinal 
presently learned to speak pure Castilian with fluency 
and grace. She received instruction from the worthy 
priests who accompanied the expedition and was 



124 South American Fights and Fighters 

baptised under the name of INIarina, and it is by that 
name that she is known in history. Her eminence 
is even greater than that unfortunate Florinda, whose 
father, to revenge her mistreatment bv King Roderick, 
the Goth, sold Spain to Tarik, the Saracen, so many 
centuries before. 

Marina learnt among other things to love Cortes, 
whose fortunes she followed and whom she served with 
an absolute, unquestioning, blind devotion and tidelity 
until the end. So absolute was this attachment of hers 
that Cortes became known to the Aztecs as the Lord 
of Marina. The Aztecs could not pronounce the 
letter R, Marina was therefore changed to Malina, 
which curiously enough was nearly her original name. 
The word "Tzin" is the Aztec name for Lord, con- 
sequently Cortes was called Malintzin, or more shortly 
IXLilinche, meaning, as has been stated, the Lord ot 
Malina. 

Sir Arthur Helps has this to say of her: "Indeed 
her Hdelit}' was assured by the love which she bore her 
master. Bernal Diaz says that she was handsome, 
clever, and eager to be useful (one that will have an 
oar in every boat), and she looked the great lady that 
she was. 

*' There was hardly any person in history to whom 
the ruin of that person's native land can be so distinctly 
brought home, as it can be to the wicked mother of 
Donna Marina. Cortes, valiant and skilful as he was 
in the use of the sword, was not less valiant (perhaps we 
might say, not less audacious) nor less skilful, in the 
use of the tongue. All the craft which he afterward 
showed in negotiations would have been profitless 
without a competent and trusty interpreter. ... It 
a medal had been struck to commemorate the deeds of 



The Greatest Adventure in History 125 

Cortes, the head of Donna Marina should have been 
associated with that of Cortes on the face of the medal; 
for, without her aid, his conquest of Mexico would never 
have been accomplished.'* 

III. The Religion of the Aztecs 

Now the Aztec Empire was a rather loose confedera- 
tion of states bound together by allegiance to a common 
overlord, who had his capital across the mountains 
in the City of Mexico. It had been founded by the 
influx of an army of fierce marauders from the North 
who had overwhelmed the Toltecs who occupied the 
country and had attained a degree of civilization which 
is presumed to have been higher than that which dis- 
placed it. This Empire of Anahuac, as it was some- 
times called, had endured for two centuries. It was 
a military despotism and the emperor was a military 
despot. His rule was the rule of fear. It subsisted 
by force of arms and terror was its cohering power. 
It had been extended by ruthless conquest alone until 
it comprised from eighteen hundred to two thousand 
square leagues, about two hundred thousand square 
miles of territory. The capital, situated on an island 
in the midst of a salt lake, was known as Tenoch- 
titlan, or the City of Mexico, and what Rome was to 
the Italian states, or Carthage was to the north 
African litoral, this city was to Anahuac, the empire 
of the Aztecs. The name Tenochtitlan is thus 
explained by Fiske: 

"When the Aztecs, hard pressed by foes, took refuge 
among these marshes, they came upon a sacrificial 
stone which they recognized as one upon which some 
years before one of their priests had immolated a captive 



126 South American Fights and Fighters 

chief. From a crevice in this stone, where a little 
earth was imbedded, there grew a cactus, upon which 
sat an eagle holding in its beak a serpent. A priest 
ingeniously interpretated this symbolism as a prophecy 
of signal and long-continued victory, and, forthwith 
diving into the lake, he had an interview \\4th Tlaloc, 
the god of waters, who told him that upon that very 
spot the people were to build their town. The place 
was thereafter called Tenochtitlan, or ''the place of 
the cactus-rock,'' but the name under which it after- 
ward came to be best known was taken from IMexitl, 
one of the names of the war god Huitzilopochtli. The 
device of the rock, the cactus, with the eagle and the 
serpent, formed' a tribal totem for the Aztecs, and has 
been adopted as the coat-of-arms of the present 
Republic of Mexico." 

Included in the sway of its emperor were many 
different tribes. They were kept in submission by 
the strong and inexorable hand. There were a few 
tribes, however, which had not been subdued and 
which still maintained a more or less precarious 
independence. The subject peoples w^ere only kept 
from open rebellion by the most rigorous and oppres- 
sive measures. There was jealousy, humiliation, hoped- 
for revenge throughout the entire empire. 

Each tribe or people had its own local god, but there 
was a bond coherent in the general Mexican religion 
that had its centre of worship in the great city, and 
which all of them followed. This religion was one of 
the most ferocious, degrading and disgusting of any 
in history. It required human sacrihce on a larger 
scale than had ever before been practised. Cannibal- 
ism was universal. Captives of war were sacrificed 
to the gods and their bodies eaten. In Mexico, 



The Greatest Adventure in History 127 

itself, with all its charm, with all its beauty, with all 
its luxuries, with all its verdure and wealth, there were 
huge pyramids of skulls. The priests were ferocious 
creatures, whose long black locks, never combed, 
were matted with blood, as they sacrificed to their 
awful war-god human hearts, still palpitating, torn 
from the victims a moment since alive. Fiske thus 
describes the temple pyramid and chief shrine in the 
great city: 

"On the summit was a dreadful block of jasper, 
convex at the top, so that when the human victim was 
laid upon his back and held down, the breast was 
pushed upwards, ready for the priest to make one 
deep slashing cut and snatch out the heart. Near 
the sacrificial block were the altars, and sancturies 
of the gods, Tezcatlipoca, Huitzilopochtli, and others, 
with idols as hideous as their names. On these altars 
smoked fresh human hearts, of which the gods were 
fond, while other parts of the bodies were ready for 
the kitchens of the communal houses below. The 
gods were voracious as wolves, and the victims as 
numerous. In some cases the heart was thrust into 
the mouth of the idol with a golden spoon, in others the 
lips were simply daubed with blood. In the temple 
a great quantity of rattlesnakes, kept as sacred objects 
were fed with the entrails of the victims. Other 
parts of the body were given to the menagerie beasts, 
which were probably also kept for purposes of religious 
symbolism. Blood was also rubbed into the mouths 
of the carved serpents upon the jambs and lintels of 
the houses. The walls and floor of the great temple 
were clotted with blood and shreds of human flesh, 
and the smell was like that of a slaughter-house. Just 
outside the temple, in front of the broad street which 



128 South American Fights and Fighters 

led across the causeway to Tlacopan, stood the 
tzompantU, which was 'an oblong parallelogram of 
earth and masonry, one hundred and fifty-four feet 
(long) at the base, ascended by thirty steps, on each 
of which were skulls. Round the summit were upward 
of seventy raised poles about four feet apart, connected 
by numerous rows of cross-poles passed through holes 
in the masts, on each of which five skulls were filed, 
the sticks being passed through the temples. In the 
centre stood two towers, or columns, made of skulls 
and lime, the face of each skull being turned outwards, 
and giving a horrible appearance to the whole. This 
effect was heightened by leaving the heads of dis- 
tinguished captives in their natural state, with hair 
and skin on. As the skulls decayed they fell from 
the towers or poles, and they were replaced by others, 
so that no vacant place was left." 

Concerning the cruelty of the Spaniards, the contrast 
between the opposing religions must be considered. 
Ruthless as the conquerors were, there is no possible 
comparison between the most indifferent principles 
of the Christian Religion and the application of the 
awful principles of the Mexican religion. MacNutt, 
the author of the latest and best life of Cortes, makes 
this interesting comment on the Christianity of the 
Spanish adventurers of the time: 

"Soldier of Spain and soldier of the Cross, for the 
Cross was the standard of militant Christianity, of 
which Spain was the truest exponent, his religion, 
devoutly believed in, but intermittently practised, 
inspired his ideals, without sufficiently guiding his 
conduct. Ofttimes brutal, he was never vulgar, while 
as a lover of sheer daring and of danger for danger's 
sake, he has never been eclipsed. . . . Sixteenth- 



The Greatest Adventure in History 129 

century Spain produced a race of Christian warriors 
whose piety, born of an intense realization of, and love 
for a militant Christ, was of a martial complexion, 
beholding in the symbol of salvation — the Cross — 
the standard of Christendom around which the faithful 
must rally, and for whose protection and exaltation 
swords must be drawn and blood spilled if need be. 
They were the children of the generation which had 
expelled the Moor from Spain, and had brought 
centuries of religious and patriotic warfare to a triumph- 
ant close, in which their country was finally united 
under the crown of Castile. From such forebears the 
generation of Cortes received its heritage of Christian 
chivalry. The discovery of a new world, peopled by 
barbarians, opened a fresh field to Spanish missionary 
zeal, in which the kingdom of God upon earth was 
to be extended and countless souls rescued from the 
obscene idolatries and debasing cannibalism which 
enslaved them." 

In the Mexican Pantheon, however, there was one 
good god, named Quetzalcoatl. He was a Toltec 
deity, and was venerated as the god of the air. He 
was identified with the east wind which brought the 
fertilizing rains; Some historians and investigators 
explain him as purely a mythical personage. He 
was supposed to have appeared to the Toltecs long 
before the Aztecs came into the land. He was described 
in ancient traditions as a tall, white-faced, bearded man, 
whose dress differed from that of the aborigines and 
included a long white tunic, upon which were dark 
red crosses. His teachings enjoined chastity, charity, 
and penance. He had but one God and preached in 
the name of that God. He condemned human sacrifice 
and taught the nation agriculture, metal work and 



130 South American Fights and Fighters 

mechanics. He fixed their calendar so that it was 
much more reUable than either the Greek or the Roman. 
There were various legends as to his departure, one of 
them being that he sailed away across the sea upon a 
raft composed of serpents, and was wafted into the 
unknown East whence he had come. 

His color, his dress, his teachings, and his character, 
are all so symbolic of Christianity, they are so strange, 
so unique, so utterly without an explanation in anything 
else known of the Aztecs and Toltecs, that the con- 
clusion that he was a Christian Bishop, wearing a 
pallium is almost irresistible. Why could not some 
Christian Bishop, voyaging along the shores of Europe, 
have been blown far out of his course by a long-con- 
tinued easterly gale, finally have landed on the shores 
of Mexico and, having done w^hat he could to teach 
the people, have built himself some kind of a ship and 
sailed eastward in the hope of once more revisiting his 
native land before he died. At any rate, such is the 
tradition. It was a tradition or legend which played 
no small part in the conquest about to be eifected, 

IV. The March to Tenochtitlan 

Into this loosely compact political and social organi- 
zation, hard-headed, clear-sighted, iron-hearted, steel- 
clad Cortes precipitated himself. His was a mind at 
the same time capable of vast and comprehensive 
designs and a most minute attention to small details. 
For instance, he laid out the city of Vera Cruz at the 
place of his landing. He caused his men to elect a 
full corps of municipal officers from their number. 
To this organization he frankly resigned his commission 
and the power that he had by the appointment of 



The Greatest Adventure in History 131 

Velasquez, which the latter had tried so hard to revoke. 
They immediately elected him captain-general of the 
expedition with vastly increased prerogatives and 
privileges. Thus he could now, in form at least, 
trace his authority to the crown, as represented by this 
new colonial municipality and he therefore had behind 
him the whole power of the expedition ! 

With a skill, which showed not only his adroitness, 
but his determination, he next caused his men to 
acquiesce in the scuttling of the ships which had 
conveyed them to Mexico! After saving the cordage, 
rigging and everything else that might be useful, 
which was carefully stored away in the little fort 
rapidly building, the vessels were destroyed beyond 
repair. Before this was done, Cortes offered to reserve 
one ship for certain malcontents and partisans of 
Velasquez in which they might return if they wished. 
Nobody took advantage of his offer. 

By this bold and original stroke, he added to 
his expeditionary force some one hundred and 
twenty hardy mariners, who thereafter took part 
with the soldiery in all the hazards and undertakings. 
With, therefore, less than six hundred men, sixteen 
horses, ten small cannon, and one woman, Cortes 
prepared to undertake the conquest of this mighty 
empire. It was a small force, but its fighting 
quality was unsurpassed. Lew Wallace thus charac- 
terizes them: 

" It is hardly worth while to eulogize the Christians 
who took part in Cortes's crusade. History has 
assumed their commemoration. I may say, however, 
they were men who had acquired fitness for the task 
by service in almost every clime. Some had tilted 
with the Moor under the walls of Granada; some had 



132 South American Fights and Fighters 

fought the Islamite on the blue Danube; some had 
performed the first Atlantic voyage with Columbus; 
all of them had hunted the Carib in the glades of 
Hispaniola. It is not enough to describe them as 
fortune-hunters, credulous, imaginative, tireless; neither 
is it enough to write them soldiers, bold, skilful, 
confident, cruel to enemies, gentle to each other. 
They were characters of the age in which they Hved, 
unseen before, unseen since; knights errant, who 
believed in hippogriff and dragon, but sought them 
only in lands of gold; missionaries, who complacently 
broke the body of the converted that Christ might the 
sooner receive his soul; palmers of pike and shield, 
who, in care of the Virgin, followed the morning round 
the world, assured that Heaven stooped lowest over 
the most profitable plantations." 

Just what Cortes at first proposed to do is not quite 
clear. Indeed, he himself could not form any definite 
plan until the circumstances under which he would 
be compelled to act, should be more precisely ascer- 
tained. He was, therefore, an opportunist. For 
one thing, he made up his mind to lead his troops to 
the capital city willy-nilly, and there act as circumstances 
might determine. He was a statesman as well as 
a soldier. It did not take him long to fathom the 
peculiarities of the organization and composition of 
the Aztec Empire. He knew that discord existed 
and he had only to introduce himself to become a 
focus for the discontent and rebellion. By giving 
a secret impression that he was for either side, he could 
play one party against the other, as best suited his 
purposes. He came to bring freedom to the one, to 
promote the revolt of the other, check the oppression 
of the third, and destroy the presumption of the another 



The Greatest Adventure in History 133 

tribe, or warring nation. So he caused his purposes 
to be declared. 

Cortes's personal character was not by any means 
above reproach, yet withal he was a sincere and 
devoted Christian, strange and inexplicable as the 
paradox may seem, but it was an age of devoted 
Christians, whose devotion and principles fortunately 
were not translated into daily life. Neither Cortes 
nor any of his followers — perhaps not even the priests 
were of different opinion — thought any less of them- 
selves or regarded themselves the less worthy Christians : 
if their conduct toward the native races did not manifest 
that continence, restraint and sympathy which their 
religion taught. Cortes was a child of his age; the other 
great men of his age were much like him in these things. 
Here and there a Las Casas appears, but he shines 
forth against a dark and universally extensive back- 
ground. Such as the great apostles to the Indies 
were lonely exceptions indeed. 

All the Spanish conquerors were cruel; but Cortes 
was not so cruel as many others. He was not to be 
compared to the ruthless Pizarro for instance. Save 
in daring and personal courage, he vastly surpassed 
the Lord of Peru in every quality which goes to make 
a man. Cortes was treacherous in his dealings 
with Montezuma and others, but the man of his age 
regarded very lightly the obligation of his word toward 
a savage. Indeed, it was a well-known principle that 
no faith was necessarily to be kept with either heretics 
or heathen and no oath was binding against the interests 
of the state. Cortes, of course, had all the contempt 
for the Aztecs that Caucasians usually have for inferior 
races, although in his letters, he tried his very best 
to be fair, to be just, even to be generous to these 



134 South American Fights and Fighters 

people he overcame; and no one can doubt the sincerity 
\\-ith which he desired to promote the spreading o{ the 
Christian rehgion. 

They did tilings differently in those days. Not 
only did they believe that the religion of the heathen 
should be changed by force, but they believed that in 
some way they could constrain all people to accept 
Christianity. More blood has been shed in promoting 
the idea that the outsider should be compelled to come 
into the fold than from tlie misinterpretation oi any 
otlier text in die sacred scriptures. If any civilized 
power in the world to-day should send an expeditionary 
force into a heathen country, which should signalize its 
arrival therein by the desecration of its temples and the 
destruction of its idols, the commander would be 
recalled at once. We have learned other methods, 
methods of persuasion, of reason, of love. The age of 
Cortes knew nothing of these methods, and he was 
only following out the common practice when he 
smashed \\4th his battle-axe tlie hideous gods of the 
Mexicans, and washed and purihed with clean water, 
tlie reeking;, gory, ill-smelling slaughter-houses which 
were tlie Aztec Holy of Holies, and adorned them with 
crosses and images of the Blessed Virgin Mary. \Mien 
Charles die IX. offered Henry o( Navarre a choice 
of deadi, mass, or the Bastille on the night of Saint 
Bartholomew, he gave him one more chance than the 
early steel-clad militant missionary gave to the aborig- 
ines of the new world — for them there was no Bastille. 

Making friends with the Tabascans, and leaving 
one hundred and hfty men to guard his base of supplies 
at Vera Cruz and to watch die coast, Cortes began his 
march toward Mexico on the sixteenth day of August, 
15 19. He proceeded with the greatest caution. Bernal 



The Greatest Adventure in History 135 

Diaz, an old soldier, who afterward wrote a most 
vivid and graphic account of the conquest, of which 
he was no small part, says that they marched forward 
"with their beards on their shoulders,** that is, looking 
from side to side, constantly. There was no hurry 
and there was no need to tire out the force which was 
thus facing the danger of a long, hard and rash adven- 
ture. 

By the aid of Marina and Aguilar, Cortes speedily 
learned of places like Cempoalla, which were hostile 
to Montezuma and he took in as many of these places 
on his m^arch as possible, always with incidents instruc- 
tive and valuable. At Cempoalla, for instance, he 
met the tax-gatherers of Montezuma. He persuaded 
the Cempoallans to refuse payment of the tax — an 
action which would ordinarily have brought down 
upon them the fury of the Aztec monarch and would 
have resulted in their complete and utter extermination. 
He did more. He caused the Cacique of Cempoalla — 
a man so fat and gross, that, like "the little round belly" 
of Santa Claus, he "shook like a jelly'* so that the 
Spaniards called him "The Trembler'* — actually to 
raise his hand against the tax-gatherers and imprison 
them. They. would undoubtedly have been sacrificed 
and eaten had not Cortes, secretly and by night released 
three of them and allowed them to go back to their 
royal master, after he had sent two into a safe ward 
at Vera Cruz. 

Montezuma*s messengers met him at every town. 
" Bearing rich gifts, they disclosed the possibilities of the 
Hinterland and germinated in the brain of Cortes the 
idea of conquest. One revelation was confirmed by 
another, and, as the evidence of Aztec wealth multiplied 
the proofs of internal disaffection throughout the 



136 South American Fights and Fighters 

empire stimulated the confidence of the brooding 
conqueror. Disloyalty among the Totonacs, treachery 
that only waited an opportunity in Texcoco, an ancient 
tradition of hate in Tlascala, and the superstition 
that obscured the judgment and paralyzed the action 
of the despotic ruler — these were the materials from 
which the astute invader evolved the machinery for 
his conquest." 

Montezuma was in a pitiable state of superstitious 
indecision. It was popularly believed that Quet- 
zalcoatl would some day return, and it was more than 
probable to the Aztec monarch and his counsellors 
that he might be reincarnated in the person of Cortes 
and his followers. Indeed, the common name for 
them among the Mexicans was Teules, which means 
gods. If Cortes was a god it was useless to fight 
against him. If he and his were men, they could of 
course be easily exterminated, but were they men ? 
There were a few bold spirits who inclined to this 
belief, but not many. Besides, whatever the rest might 
be, the horsemen must be of divine origin. Cuitlahua, 
the brother of Montezuma, and one of the highest and 
most important of the Aztec rulers was for attacking 
them whatever the consequences, but he was alone 
in advising this. It was thought better to temporize. 
Perhaps later on it might be decided whether these 
strange beings were of common clay, and there would 
be plenty of time to exterminate them then. 

Montezuma was therefore an opportunist, like 
Cortes, but there was a vast difference between them. 
]\Iontezuma was a man of great ability, undoubtedly, 
or he never could have been chosen by the hereditary 
electors to the position he occupied, and he could never 
have held it if he had not been. He was a man over 



The Greatest Adventure in History 137 

fifty years of age, and had maintained himself on the 
throne, in spite of many wars, in which he had been 
almost universally victorious. His judgment and his 
decision aUke were paralyzed by superstition. He 
did the unwisest thing he could possibly have done. 
He sent messengers to Cortes, bearing rich gifts, gold, 
feather work, green stones, which the Spaniards thought 
were emeralds, vast treasures. He acknowledged in 
effect the wonderful wisdom of Cortes's overlord, the 
great emperor, Charles V., in whose name Cortes 
did everything, taking care always to have a notary 
to attest his proclamations to the Indians, but he told 
Cortes not to come to Mexico City. He said that 
he was poor, that the journey was a long and hard 
one; in short, he oflpered him every inducement to 
come with one hand, while he waved him back with 
the other. 

Treasure was the only motive of the conquerors of 
Peru. Cortes was big enough and great enough to 
rise above that. He was after larger things than the 
mere filling of his purse, and on several occasions he 
relinquished his own share of the booty to the soldiery. 
He was an empire-builder, not a treasure-hunter. 

As Cortes progressed through the country, the 
treasure sent by Montezuma grew in value, and the 
prohibitions, which by and by amounted to entreaties, 
increased in volume. We wonder what might have 
happened, if young Guatemoc, whom we shall hear of 
later had occupied the throne. Certainly, although 
the Spaniards would have died fighting, they would 
undoubtedly have been overwhelmed, and the conquest 
of Mexico might have been postponed for another 
generation or two. It was bound to happen anyway, 
sooner or later, as far as that goes. 



138 South American Fights and Fighters 

V. The Republic of TIascala 

Cortes's progress finally brought him to a remarkable 
tribe, whose friendship he succeeded in winning, and 
which must be added as the fourth factor, with him- 
self, Marina, and the horses, as the cause of the downfall 
of Mexico. Curiously enough, this tribe had a sort 
of republican form of government. It is usually 
referred to as the RepubHc of TIascala. It was an inde- 
pendent confederation composed of four separate states. 
The government consisted of a senate, composed of 
the rulers of the four states or clans of the tribe. TIas- 
cala was completely hemmed in by provinces of the 
Aztec Empire, with which it was always in a state of 
constant and bitter warfare. The inhabitants had no 
access to the sea, consequently they had never enjoyed 
the use of salt. They had no access to the lowlands, 
so they were without cotton, a fabric then universally 
used throughout the country. They had no trade 
or commerce. They were completely shut in and 
eternal vigilance was the price of their liberty. They 
lacked the arts, the grace, and the refinement of the 
Mexicans, but they were as hardy, as bold, as skilful in 
the use of arms, and as determined, as well as cruel, 
as the Aztecs. Neither Montezuma nor his pre- 
decessors with the power of millions had been able 
to make them acknowledge any sovereignty but their 
own. They were protected by the mountain ranges 
and here and there they had built high walls across the 
valley. TIascala was a large and imposing city. 
Cortes thus describes it: 

"This city is so extensive and so well worthy of 
admiration, that although I omit much that I could 



The Greatest Adventure in History 139 

say of it, I feel assured that the little I shall say will 
be scarcely credited, for it is larger than Granada, 
and much stronger, and contains as many fine houses 
and a much larger population than that city did at 
the time of its capture; and it is much better supplied 
with the products of the earth, such as corn, and with 
fowls and game, fish from the rivers, various kinds of 
vegetables, and other exellent articles of food. There 
is in this city a market, in which every day thirty thou- 
sand people are engaged in buying and selling, besides 
many other merchants who are scattered about the 
city. The market contains a great variety of articles 
both of food and clothing, and all kinds of shoes for the 
feet; jewels of gold and silver, and precious stones, and 
ornaments of feathers, all as well arranged as they can 
possibly be found in any public squares or markets in 
the world. There is much earthenware of every style 
and a good quality, equal to the best Spanish manufac- 
ture. Wood, coal, edible and medicinal plants, are 
sold in great quantities. There are houses where they 
wash and shave the head as barbers, and also for baths. 
Finally, there is found among them a well-regulated 
police; the people are rational and well disposed, and 
altogether greatly superior to the most civilized African 
nations. The country abounds in level and beautiful 
valleys all tilled and sown, without any part lying 
unimproved. In its constitution of government that 
has existed until the present time, it resembles the states 
of Venice, Genoa and Pisa; since the supreme authority 
is not reposed in one person. There are many nobles, 
all of whom reside in the city; the common people are 
laborers and the vassals of the nobility, but each one 
possesses land of his own, some more than others. 
In war all unite and have a voice in its management 



I40 South American Fights and Fighters 

and direction. It may be supposed that they have 
tribunals of justice for the punishment of the guilty; 
since when one of the natives of the province stole some 
gold of a Spaniard, and I mentioned the circumstance 
to Magiscacin, the most powerful of the nobility, they 
made search for the thief, and traced him to a city in 
the neighborhood called Churultecal (Cholula) from 
whence they brought him prisoner, and delivered him 
to me with the gold, saying that I must have him pun- 
ished. I acknowledged in suitable terms the pains 
they had taken in the matter, but remarked to them 
that since the prisoner was in their country, they should 
punish him according to their custom, and that I chose 
not to interfere with the punishment of their people 
while I remained among them. They thanked me 
and, taking the man, carried him to the great market, 
a town crier making public proclamations of his offense; 
they then placed him at the base of a structure resemb- 
ling a theatre, which stands in the midst of the market- 
place, while the crier went to the top of the building, 
and with a loud voice again proclaimed his offense; 
whereupon the people beat him with sticks until he 
was dead. We likewise saw many persons in prison 
who were said to be confined for theft and other offenses 
they had committed. There are in this province, 
according to the report made by my order, five hundred 
thousand inhabitants, besides those in another smaller 
province adjacent to this, called Guazincango, who 
live in the manner, not subject to any native sovereign 
and are not less the vassals of Your Highness than 
the people of Tlascala." 

Montezuma gave another reason for permitting the 
Tlascalans their liberty and independence. He said 
that he was allowing them to maintain their existence 



The Greatest Adventure in History 141 

and remain a republic because everything else in the 
vicinity had been conquered; and as there w^as no 
field for the young warriors of the Aztec nation to 
obtain that military training which it was always 
best to learn by actual experience, he kept Tlascala 
in a state of enmity because it furnished him a place 
where he could get the human beings for sacrifices 
to his gods that he required and at the same time train 
his young soldiery. In other words, Tlascala was 
regarded as a sort of game preserve from a religious 
point of view. Doubtless, Tlascala did not acknowl- 
edge the justice, the propriety and the correctness 
of this attitude of scorn and contempt on the part of 
the Aztecs. The other tribes of Mexico bore the yoke 
uneasily, and cherished resentment, but even the 
enmity between the Jews and the Samaritans was 
not more bitter than the enmity between the Tlascalans 
and the people of the city of Anahuac. 

When Cortes drew near Tlascala, the senate debated 
what course it should pursue toward him. One of 
the four t-egents, so called, of the republic was a man 
of great age, feeble and blind, but resolute of spirit. 
His name was Xicotencatl. He was all for war. He 
was opposed by a young man named Maxixcatzin. 
The debate between the two and the other participants 
was long and furious. Finally the desire of Xicotencatl 
prevailed in a modified form. There was a tribe 
occupying part of the Tlascalan territory and under 
Tlascalan rule called Otumies. It was decided to 
cause the Otumies to attack Cortes and his force. 
If Cortes was annihilated, the problem would be 
solved. If the Otumies were defeated their action 
would be disavowed by the Tlascalans and no harm 
would be done to anybody but the unfortunate 



142 South American Fights and Fighters 

Otumies, for whom no one in Tlascala felt any great 
concern. 

The Otumies were placed in the front of the battle, 
but the Tlascalans themselves followed under the 
command of another Xicotencatl, son of the old regent, 
who w^as a tried and brilliant soldier. The battles 
along the coast had been more like massacres, but this 
was a real fight, and a number of Spaniards were 
killed, three horses also, more valuable than the men, 
were despatched, and at the close of the engagement 
the Spaniards had lost about fifty, a serious diminution 
of the forces of Cortes, but the unfortunate Otumies 
and the Tlascalans were overwhelmed with a fearful 
slaughter. Of course, the action of the Otumies was 
disavowed, Cortes was invited into Tlascala and an 
alliance between the Spaniards and the republic was 
consummated. The Tlascalans threw themselves, heart 
and soul, into the project, which they dimly perceived 
was in the mind of Cortes, the conquest of Mexico. 
Nothing was said about all of this. Cortes simply 
declared his design to pay a friendly visit to Montezuma 
to whom he sent repeated and solemn assurances 
that he intended him no harm, that Montezuma could 
receive him with the utmost frankness and without 
fear and without anticipating any violence whatever 
on the part of the Spaniards. But the wise in Tlascala 
knew that a collision between the Spaniards and the 
Aztecs would be inevitable. They saw a chance to 
feed fat their ancient grudge, and to exact bitter 
revenge for all that they had suffered at the hands of 
the Aztecs. 

To anticipate, they were faithful to the alliance 
and loyally carried out their part of the agreement 
in the resulting campaigns. Without them on several 



The Greatest Adventure in History 143 

occasions Cortes' fortunes would have been even 
more desperate than they were. Montezuma's envoys, 
heartily detesting the Tlascalans, sought to persuade 
Cortes against any dealings with them whatsoever. 
They gave a very bad character to the dusky allies 
of the Spaniards and the Tlascalans returned the 
compliment in kind. 

When his wounded had recovered, accompanied 
by a large army of Tlascalans under young Xicotencatl, 
Cortes set forth about the middle of October on the 
last stage of his wonderful journey. By this time, 
Montezuma had concluded to make a virtue out of a 
necessity, and he had sent word to him that he would 
welcome him to his capital. He received return reitera- 
tions of the statement that Cortes' intentions were 
entirely pacific, that he represented the greatest monarch 
in the world who lived beyond the seas, and all that 
he would require of Montezuma was the acknowledg- 
ment of his dependence in common with every earthly 
monarch upon this mysterious potentate across the 
ocean. This Montezuma was quite willing to give. 
He was also willing to pay any tribute exacted if only 
these children of the Sun would go away, and he could 
be left to the undisturbed enjoyment of his kingdom. 

He suggested a way for Cortes to approach the 
capital. The Tlascalans did some scouting and 
informed Cortes that the way was filled with pitfalls, 
blocked with stones, and the opportunities for ambus- 
cade were many and good. No one can blame Monte- 
zuma for taking these precautions, although he after- 
wards disowned any participation in them and said 
that the arrangements had been made by some irrespon- 
sible subjects, and Cortes passed it over. 

The Tlascalans, who knew all the passes of the 



144 South American Fights and Fighters 

mountains, offered to lead Cortes and his followers 
by another way. Although he was warned not to 
trust them by the envoys of Montezuma, Cortes with 
that judgment of men which so distinguished him, 
elected the harder and shorter way across the mountains. 
Nature had made the pass a difficult one, but the 
indomitable Spaniards struggled over it, enduring 
terrible fatigue and periods of piercing cold. They 
got far above the timber line and approached the 
boundaries of eternal snow. It is characteristic of 
them, that on one point of their journey, they stopped 
and despatched a party under Ordaz to scale and 
explore the smoking volcano Popocatepetl, which with 
Ixtaccihuatl guarded the beautiful valley of Mexico. 
Ordaz and his twelve companions followed the guides 
as far as they would lead them and then they climbed 
far up the sides. They were unable to reach the top, 
but they accomplished a prodigious ascent, and Ordaz 
was afterwards allowed to add to his coat of arms 
a flaming volcano. 

The summit of the mountain was at last passed, 
and the magnificent valley of Mexico opened to their 
view. It was a scene which caused even the hearts 
of these rugged and hardened adventurers to thrill 
with pleasure and satisfaction. No fairer land had 
ever burst upon human vision. The emerald verdure 
was broken by beautiful lakes, bordered by luxuriant 
vegetation, diversified by mountains and plateaus, 
while here and there magnificent cities glistened in 
the brilliant tropical sun among the sparkling 
waters. As far as one could see the land was under 
cultivation. 

The descent of the mountains was easy, compara- 
tively speaking, and the Spaniards, after some journey- 



The Greatest Adventure in History 145 

ing, found themselves in the populous and wealthy 
city of Cholula, remarkable for the splendid pyramid 
temple — Teocalli — which rose in the centre of its 
encircling walls. 

Here a plan was devolved to massacre the whole 
force which had been quartered in one of the vast 
palaces or houses of the town. The women and the 
children left the city in large numbers, a vast body 
of Mexican soldiers was secretly assembled near by. 
The provisions, which had always been supplied them 
generously, were suddenly withdrawn. The suspicions 
of the Spaniards were of course awakened and extra 
good watch was kept. They did not know what to 
suspect, until a Cholulan woman, who had formed 
an acquaintance with Marina, told her of the purpose 
of the Mexicans, and advised her to flee from the 
Spanish camp if she valued her life. The faithful 
Marina immediately disclosed the whole plan to Cortes. 
He acted with remarkable celerity and decision. There 
were many Cholulan lords and attendants about the 
Spanish camp and there were many others in town, 
evidently to lull any suspicions which the Spaniards 
might feel and to make whatever excuse they could 
for the lack of provisions. On one pretense or another, 
Cortes summoned the whole body to his house, which 
was a great rambling structure of many rooms and 
thick walls and enclosures. He got them assembled 
in one room and then proceeded to slaughter most 
of them, reserving only a few for use after the event 
had been determined. While this butchering was 
going on he sent others of his troops into the streets 
and squares of the town, where they killed without 
hesitation and without mercy all with whom they came 
in contact, including several bodies of soldiers who 



146 South American Fights and Fighters 

were more or less helpless without their leaders, whom 
Cortes had so craftily disposed of. 

This was the celebrated massacre of Cholula. 
Whether it was justifiable or not, each reader must 
settle for himself. Cortes' situation then was certainly 
desperate; for that matter, it was desperate at all times. 
His life and the lives of his comrades hung upon a 
thread. He certainly had a right to protect himself. 
Personally, I do not think such a slaughter was neces- 
sary for his protection. However, Cortes thought so, 
and he was there. It was his life that was concerned, 
and not mine. Other monarchs in more civilized 
days have done practically the same as this, as for 
instance, the famous Barmecide feast, the wholesale 
assassination of the Abencerrages in Spain, the mas- 
sacre of the Mamelukes by Napoleon in Egypt, and 
many others. 

To be sure these massacres did not include the helpless 
inhabitants of the towns. However, with his usual 
policy, Cortes spared some of the Cholulan lords and 
when he had shown his power over them, he released 
them and told them to summon back the people who 
had left the city. He had no more trouble with the 
Cholulans after that victory, and he presently took 
up his journey toward Mexico. 

Now, the City of Mexico to the Spaniards was one 
of the wonders of the world. They have described 
it in such terms as show the impression it made upon 
them, but they have not described it in such terms 
as to enable us to understand from their stories exactly 
what the city was. It was described as an island 
city. Some believed it to have been an enormous 
Pueblo city, such as may be seen in Arizona or New 
Mexico, surrounded by thousands of squalid huts. 



The Greatest Adventure in History 147 

Others conjectured it as a city as beautiful as Venice, 
as great as Babylon, and as wonderful as hundred- 
gated Thebes. 

Cortes shall tell himself the impression it made upon 
him in the next section which is lifted bodily from one 
of his famous letters to the emperor Charles V. 

VI. Cortes' Description of Mexico, written by his own 

hand to Charles V., Emperor of Germany 

and King of Spain 

In order, most potent Sire, to convey to your Majesty 
a just conception of the great extent of this noble city 
of Temixtitan, and of the many rare and wonderful 
objects it contains; of the government and dominions 
of Muteczuma, the sovereign; of the religious rites and 
customs that prevail, and the order that exists in this 
as well as other cities, appertaining to his realm; it 
would require the labor of many accomplished writers, 
and much time for the completion of the task. I shall 
not be able to relate an hundredth part of what could 
be told respecting these matters; but I will endeavor 
to describe, in the best manner in my power, what I 
have myself seen; and, imperfectly as I may succeed in 
that attempt, I am fully aware that the account will 
appear so wonderful as to be deemed scarcely worthy 
of credit; since even we who have seen these things 
with our own eyes, are yet so amazed as to be unable 
to comprehend their reality. But your Majesty may 
be assured that if there is any fault in my relation, 
either in regard to the present subject, or to any other 
matters of which I shall give your Majesty an account, 
it will arise from too great brevity rather than extrava- 
gance or prolixity in the details; and it seems to me 



148 South American Fights and Fighters 

but I'ust to mv Prince and Sovereign to declare the 
truth in the clearest manner, ^^^thout saving amtliing 
that would detract from it, or add to it. 

Before I begin to describe this great city and the others 
already mentioned, it may be Nvell for the bener under- 
standing of the subject to say something of the conhgura- 
tion of ^lexico,* in which they are situated, it being the 
principal seat of ^luteczuma's power. This province 
is in the form of a circle, surrounded on all sides by 
lofty and rugged mountains; its level surface comprises 
an area of about seventy leagues in circumference, 
including two lakes, that overspread nearly the whole 
valley, being navigated by boats more than fifty 
leagues round. One of these lakes contains fresh, and 
the other, which is the larger of the two. salt water. On 
one side of the lakes, in the middle of the valley, a range 
of highlands divides them from one another, with the 
exception of a narrow strait which lies between the 
highlands and the lofty sierras. This strait is a bow- 
shot wide, and connects the two lakes; and by this 
means a trade is carried on by the cities and other 
settlement on tlie lakes in canoes, without the neces- 
sity of traveling by land. As the salt lake rises and 
falls ^^•ith tlie tides like the sea. during the time of high 
water it pours into the other lake with die rapidity o{ 
a powerful stream; and on the other hand, when the 
tide has ebbed, tlie water runs from the fresh into the 
salt lake. 

This great city of Temixtitan (IMexico) is situated 
in this salt lake, and from the main land to the denser 
parts of it, by which ever route one choses to enter, 

♦Cortes applies this name to the province in which the city.cdleJ by him Temistitan, 
more properly Tenochtitlan, but now Mexico, was situated. Throughout this article 
the curious spelling of the great conqueror is retained as he wrote. 



The Greatest Adventure in History 149 

the distance is two leagues. There are four avenues 
or entrances to the city, all of which are formed by 
artificial causeways, two spears' length in width. The 
city is as large as Seville or Cordova; its streets, I speak 
of principal ones, are very wide and straight; some of 
these, and all the inferior ones, are half land and half 
water, and are navigated by canoes. All the streets 
at intervals have openings, through which the water 
flows, crossing from one street to another; and at these 
openings, some of which are very wide, there are also 
very wide bridges, composed of large pieces of lumber, 
of great strength and well put together; on many of 
these bridges ten horses can go abreast. Foreseeing 
that if the inhabitants of this city should prove treach- 
erous, they would possess great advantages from the 
manner in which the city is constructed, since by 
removing the bridges at the entrances and abandon- 
ing the place, they could leave us to perish by famine 
without our being able to reach the mainland — as 
soon as I had entered it, I made great haste to build 
four brfgantines, which were soon finished, and were 
large enough to take ashore three hundred men and 
the horses, whenever it became necessary. 

This city has many public squares, in which are 
situated the markets and other places for buying and 
selling. There is one square twice as large as that 
of the city of Salamanca, surrounded by porticoes, 
where are daily assembled more than sixty thousand 
souls, engaged in buying and selling; and where are 
found all kinds of merchandise that the world affords, 
embracing the necessities of life, as, for instance, articles 
of food, as well as jewels of gold, silver, lead, brass, cop- 
per, tin, precious stones, bones, shells, snails and feathers. 
There were also exposed for sale wrought and unwrought 



I50 South American Fights and Fighters 

stone, bricks burnt and unburnt, timber hewn and 
unhewn of different sorts. There is a street for game, 
where every variety of birds found in the country is 
sold, as fowls, partridges, quails, wild ducks, fly-catchers, 
widgeons, turtle-doves, pigeons, reedbirds, parrots, 
sparrows, eagles, hawks, owls, and kestrels; they sell, 
likewise, the skins of some birds of prey, with their 
feathers, head and beak and claws. There they also 
sold rabbits, hares, deer, and little dogs which are 
raised for eating and castrated. There is also an herb 
street, where may be obtained all sorts of roots and 
medicinal herbs that the country affords. There are 
apothecaries' shops, where prepared medicines, liquids, 
ointments, and plasters are sold; barber shops where 
they wash and shave the head; and restauranteurs that 
furnish food and drink at a certain price. There is 
also a class of men like those called in Castile porters, 
for carrying burdens. Wood and coal are seen in 
abundance, and brasiers of earthenware for burning 
coals; mats of various kinds for beds, others of a lighter 
sort for seats, and for halls and bedrooms. There are 
all kinds of green vegetables, especially onions, leeks, 
garlic, watercresses, nasturtium, borage, sorel, arti- 
chokes, and golden thistle-fruits also of numerous 
descriptions, amongst which are cherries and plums, 
similar to those in Spain; honey and wax from bees, 
and from the stalks of maize, which are as sweet as the 
sugar-cane; honey is also extracted from the plant 
called maguey,* which is superior to sweet or new wine; 
from the same plant they extract sugar and wine, 
which they also sell. Different kinds of cotton thread 

* This is the plant known in this country under the name of the Century Plant, which 
is still much cultivated in Mexico for the purposes mentioned by Cortes. It usually 
flowers when eight or ten years old. 



The Greatest Adventure in History 151 

of all colors in skeins are exposed for sale in one 
quarter of the market, which has the appearance of the 
silk market at Granada, although the former is sup- 
plied more abundantly. Painter's colors, as numer- 
ous as can be found in Spain, and as fine shades; deer- 
skins dressed and undressed, dyed different colors; 
earthenware of a large size and excellent quality; 
large and small jars, jugs, pots, bricks, and an endless 
variety of vessels, all made of fine clay, and all or most 
of them glazed and painted; maize or Indian corn, in 
the grain, and in the form of bread, preferred in the 
grain for its flavor to that of the other islands and 
terra firma; pates of birds and fish; great quantities of 
fish, fresh, salt, cooked and uncooked; the eggs of hens, 
geese and of all the other birds I have mentioned, in 
great abundance, and cakes made of eggs; finally, 
everything that can be found throughout the whole 
country is sold in the markets, comprising articles so 
numerous that, to avoid prolixity and because their 
names are not retained in my memory, or are unknown 
to me, I shall not attempt to enumerate them. Every 
kind of merchandise is sold in a particular street or 
quarter assigned to it exclusively, and thus the best 
order is preserved. They sell everything by number 
or measure; at least, so far we have not observed them 
to sell anything by weight. There is a building in the 
great square that is used as an audience house, where 
ten or twelve persons, who are magistrates, sit and 
decide all controversies that arise in the market, and 
order delinquents to be punished. In the same square 
there are other persons who go constantly about among 
the people observing what is sold, and the measures 
used in selling; and they have been seen to break 
measures that were not true. 



152 South American Fights and Fighters 

This great city contains a large number of temples * 
or houses for their idols, very handsome edifices, 
which are situated in the different districts and the 
suburbs; in the principal ones religious persons of each 
particular sect are constantly residing, for whose use, 
beside the houses containing the idols, there are other 
convenient habitations. All these persons dress in 
black and never cut or comb their hair from the time 
they enter the priesthood until thev leave it; and all 
the sons of the principal inhabitants, both nobles and 
respectable citizens, are placed in the temples and 
wear the same dress from the age of seven or eight years 
until thev are taken out to be married; which occurs 
more frequently with the firstborn, who inherits estates, 
than vdth the others. The priests are debarred from 
female society, nor is any woman permitted to enter 
the religious houses. They also abstain from eating 
certain kinds of food, more at some seasons of the year 
than others. Among these temples there is one which 
far surpasses all the rest, whose grandeur of architec- 
tural details no human tongue is able to describe; 
for within its precincts, surrounded by a lotty wall, 
there is room for a town of five hundred families. 
Around the interior of this enclosure there are hand- 
some edifices, containing large halls and corridors, in 
which the religious persons attached to the temple 
reside. There are full forty towers, which are lofty 
and well built, the largest of which has fifty steps 
leading to its main body, and is higher than the tower 
of the principal church at Seville. The stone and 
wood of which they are constructed are so well wrought 

* The original has the word Mfzquitizs, mosques; but as the term is applied in Eng- 
lish exclusivelv to Mohammedan places of worship, one of more general application 
is used in the translation. 



The Greatest Adventure in History 153 

in every part, that nothing could be better done, for the 
interior of the chapels containing the idols consists 
of curious imagery, wrought in stone, with plaster 
ceilings, and woodwork carved in relief, and painted 
with figures of monsters and other objects. All these 
towers are the burial places of the nobles, and every 
chapel of them is dedicated to a particular idol, to 
which they pay their devotions. 

There are three halls in this grand temple, which 
contain the principal idols; these are of wonderful extent 
and height, and admirable workmanship, adorned 
with figures sculptured in stone and wood; leading 
from the halls are chapels with very small doors, to 
which the light is not admitted, nor are any persons 
except the priests, and not all of them. In these 
chapels are the images or idols, although, as I have 
before said, many of them are also found on the outside; 
the principal ones, in which the people have greatest 
faith and confidence, I precipitated from their pedes- 
tals, and cast them down the steps of the temple, 
purifying the chapels in which they stood, as they were 
all polluted with human blood, shed in the sacrifices. 
In the place of these I put images of Our Lady and the 
Saints, which excited not a little feeling in Muteczuma 
and the inhabitants, who at first remonstrated, declar- 
ing that if my proceedings were known throughout 
the country, the people would rise against me; for they 
believed that their idols bestowed upon them all tem- 
poral good, and if they permitted them to be ill-treated, 
they would be angry and withhold their gifts, and by 
this means the people would be deprived of the fruits 
of the earth and die of famine. L answered, through 
the interpreters, that they were deceived in expect- 
ing any favors from idols, the work of their own 



154 South American Fights and Fighters 

hands, formed of unclean things; and that they must 
learn there was but one God, the universal Lord of all, 
who had created the heavens and the earth, and all 
things else, and had made them' and us; that He was 
without beginning and immortal, and that they were- 
bound to adore and believe Him, and no other creature 
or thing. I said everything to them I could to divert 
them from their idolatries, and draw them to a knowl- 
edge of God our Lord. Muteczuma replied, the 
others assenting to what he said: "That they had 
already informed me that they were not the aborigines 
of the country, but that their ancestors had emigrated 
to it many years ago; and they fully believed, after so 
long an absence from their native land, they might 
have fallen into some errors; that I, having been 
recently arrived, must know better than themselves 
what they ought to believe; and that if I would instruct 
them in these matters, and make them understand 
the true faith, they would follow my directions, as 
being for the best." Afterward Muteczuma and 
many of the principal citizens remained with me 
until I had removed the idols, purified the chapels, 
and placed images in them, manifesting apparent 
pleasure; and I forbade them sacrificing human beings 
to their idols, as they had been accustomed to do; 
because, besides being abhorrent in the sight of God, 
your sacred Majesty had prohibited it by law and 
commanded to put to death whoever should take the 
life of another. Thus, from that time, they refrained 
from the practice, and during the whole period of my 
abode in that city, they were never seen to kill or 
sacrifice a human being. 

The figures of the idols in which these people believe 
surpass in stature a person of more than the ordinary 



The Greatest Adventure in History 155 

size; some of them are composed of a mass of seeds 
and leguminous plants, such as are used for food, 
ground and mixed together, and kneaded with the blood 
of human hearts taken from the breasts of living per- 
sons, from which a paste is formed in a sufficient quan- 
tity to form large statues. When these are com- 
pleted they make them offerings of the hearts of other 
victims, which they sacrifice to them, and besmear their 
faces with the blood. For everything they have an 
idol, consecrated by the use of the nations that in 
ancient times honored the same gods. Thus they 
have an idol that they petition for victory in war; 
another for success in their labors; and so for every- 
thing in which they seek or desire prosperity, they 
have their idols, which they honor and serve. 

This noble city contains many fine and magnificent 
houses; which may be accounted for from the fact that 
all the nobility of the country, who are the vassals of 
Muteczuma, have houses in the city, in which they 
reside a certain part of the year; and besides, there are 
numerous wealthy citizens who also possess fine houses. 
All these persons, in addition to the large and spacious 
apartments for ordinary purposes, have others, both 
upper and lower, that contain conservatories of flowers. 
Along one of the causeways that lead into the city are 
laid two pipes, constructed of masonry, each of which 
is two paces in width, and about five feet in height. 
An abundant supply of excellent water, forming a 
volume equal in bulk to the human body, is conveyed 
by one of these pipes, and distributed about the city, 
where it is used by the inhabitants for drinking and 
other purposes. The other pipe, in the meantime, is 
kept empty until the former requires to be cleansed, 
when the water is let into it; and continues to be used 



156 South American Fights and Fighters 

until the cleansing is finished. As the water is neces- 
sarily carried over bridges on account of the salt water 
crossing its route, reservoirs resembling canals are 
constructed on the bridges, through which the fresh 
water is conveyed. These reservoirs are of the breadth 
of the body of an ox, and of the same length as the 
bridges. The whole city is thus served with water, 
which they carr}' in canoes through all the streets for 
sale, taking it from the aqueduct in the following man- 
ner: the canoes pass under the bridges on which the 
reservoirs are placed, when men stationed above fill 
them with water, for which service they are paid. At 
all the entrances of the city, and in those parts where 
the canoes are discharged, that is, where the greatest 
quantity of provisions is brought in, huts are erected 
and persons stationed as guards, who receive a ct-rtum 
quid for everything that enters. I know not whether 
the sovereign receives this duty or the city, as I have 
not yet been informed; but 1 believe that it apper- 
tains to the sovereign, as in the markets of other pro- 
vinces a tax is collected for the benefit of their cacique. 
In all the markets and public places of this city are 
seen daily many laborers and persons of various 
emplovments waiting for some one to hire them. The 
inhabitants o^ this city pay a greater regard to style in 
tlieir mode of living, and are more attentive to ele- 
gance of dress and politeness of manners, than those ot 
the other provinces and cities; since as the Cacique * 
iMuteczuma has his residence in the capital, and all 

♦ The title invariably given to Muteczuma (or Montezuma") in these dispatches 
is simply Senor, in its sense of Lord or (to use an Indian word) Cacique; which is also 
given to the chiefs or governors of districts or provinces, whether independent or feuda- 
tories. The title of Emperador (Emperor), how generally applied to the Mexican 
ruler, is never conferred on him bv Cortes, nor any other impl\nng royality, although 
in the beginning of this despatch, he assures Charles V. that the country is extensive 
enough to constitute an empire. 



The Greatest Adventure in History 157 

the nobility, his vassals, are in the constant habit of 
meeting there, a general courtesy of demeanour neces- 
sarily prevails. But not to be prolix in describing' 
what relates to the affairs of this great city, although 
it is with difficulty that I refrain from proceeding. I 
will say no more than that the manners of the people, 
as shown in their intercourse with one another, are 
marked by as great an attention to the proprieties of life 
as in Spain, and good order is equally well observed; 
and considering that they are a barbarous people, 
without the knowledge of God, having no intercourse 
with civilized nations, these traits of character are 
worthy of admiration. 

In regard to the domestic appointments of Mutec- 
zuma, and the wonderful grandeur and state he main- 
tains, there is so much to be told, that I assure your 
Majesty I do not know where to begin my relation, so 
as to be able to finish any part of it. For, as I have 
already stated, what can be more wonderful, than that 
a barbarous monarch, as he is, should have every 
object found in his dominions, imitated in gold, silver, 
precious stones and feathers ? — the gold and silver 
being wrought so naturally as not to be surpassed 
by any smith in the world; the stone work executed 
with such perfection that is it difficult to conceive what 
instruments could have been used; and the feather 
work superior to the finest productions in wax and 
embroidery. The extent of Muteczuma's dominions 
has not been ascertained, since to whatever point he 
despatched his messengers, even two hundred leagues 
from his capital, his commands were obeyed, although 
some of his provinces were in the midst of countries 
with which he was at war. But as nearly as I have 
been able to learn, his territories are equal in extent 



15S South American Fights and Fighters 

to Spain itselt'. tor he sent messengers to the inhabi- 
tants of a citv called Cumatan ;^requiring them to 
become subjects ot' Your MajestvV ^vhich is sixty 
leagues bevond that part ot* Putunchan watered bv 
the river Grijalva, and two hundred and thirty leagues 
distant from the great city; and I sent some of our people 
a distance of one hundred and fit'tv leagues in the same 
direction. All the principal chiefs of these provinces, 
especially those in the vicinity of the capital, reside, 
as I have already stated, the greater part of the year 
in that great city, and all or most of them have their 
oldest sons in the sendee of Mutecuma. There are 
fortified places in all the provinces, garrisoned with 
his own men, where are also stationed his governors 
and collectors of th.e rent and tribute, rendered him 
by every province; and an account is kept of what 
each is obliged to pay, as they have characters and 
figures n\ade on paper that are used tor this purpose. 
Each province renders a tribute of its own particular 
productions, so that the sovereign receives a great 
variety of articles t'rom diflerent quarters. No prince 
was ever more teared by his subjects, both u\ liis pres- 
ence and absence, lie possessed out ot the city as 
well as within, numerous vill.is, each ot which had its 
peculiar sources of amusement, and all were con- 
structed in the best possible manner tor the use o\' 
a ^reat prince and lord. ^^ ithin the citv his palaces 
were so wondertul that it is hardly possible to describe 
their beauty and extent; 1 can only say that in Spain 
there is nothing to equal them. 

There was one palace somewhat interior to the 
rest, attached to which was a beautitul garden with 
balconies extending over it, supported bv marble col- 
umns, and having a tloor tormed of jasper elegantly 



The Greatest Adventure in History 159 

laid. There were apartments in this palace sufficient 
to lodge two princes of the highest rank with their 
retinues. There wefe likewise belonging to it ten 
pools of water, in which were kept the different species 
of water birds found in this country, of which there is 
a great variety, all of which are domesticated; for the 
sea birds there were pools of salt water, and for the 
river birds, of fresh water. The water is let off at 
certain times to keep it pure, and is replenished by 
means of pipes. Each species of bird is supplied with 
the food natural to it, which it feeds upon when wild. 
Thus fish is given to birds that usually eat it; worms, 
maize and the finer seeds, to such as prefer them. 
And I assure Your Highness, that to the birds accus- 
tomed to eat fish, there is given the enormous quantity 
often arrobas* every day, taken in the salt lake. The 
emperor has three hundred men whose sole employ- 
ment is to take care of these birds; and there are others 
whose only business is to attend to the birds that are 
in bad health. 

Over the pools for the birds there are corridors and 
galleries to which Muteczuma resorts, and from which 
lie can look" out and amuse himself with the sight of 
them. There is an apartment in the same palace, 
in which are men, women, and children, whose faces, 
bodies, hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes are white from 
birth. The cacique has another very beautiful palace, 
with a large courtyard, paved with handsome flags, 
in the style of a chess-board. There were also cages, 
about nine feet in height and six paces square, each of 
which was half covered with a roof of tiles, and the 
other half had over it a wooden grate, skilfully made. 
Every cage contains a bird of prey, of all the species 

* Two hundred and fifty pounds weight. 



i6o South American Fights and I ii^'uc rs 

found in Spain* from the kestrel tv> li-.v c.^i^ie, .lUvi 
many unknown therx\ Vherx^ weix' a great number of 
each kind, and in the cv^verevl part of the cages there 
was a jH^reh» and another on the outj^ide of the j^rat^ 
ing, the former of which the birds used in the night- 
time, and when it raimxl; and the other enabled them 
to enjoy the sun and air. To all these birds fowl 
were iJailv given for Uxxi, and nothing elst\ Fhere were 
in the same palace several large balls on the grvnmd 
floor, tilled with immense cages built of heavy picves of 
timber, well put tc>gether, in all or niost of which were 
kept lions, tigxTS, wolves, foxes and a variety of animals 
of the cat tribe, in great numbers, which were alsi"* fed 
on fowls. The care of these animals and birds was 
assigncvi to three hundred men. There was ai\other 
palace that contained a number of men and women 
of monstrous si/e, and als\> dwarfs, and cnx^ked and 
ill-formed persons, each of which had their separate 
apartments. These alsi'* had their respective keepers. 
As to the other remarkable things that the ruler had 
in his city for amusement, I can only say rliat the\ 
were numerous and of various kinds. 

He was served in the following manner. FNer\ 
day as soon as it was light, six hundred nobles and n\en 
of rank were in attendance at the palace, who either 
sat or walked about the halls and galleries, and passed 
their time in conxersation, but without entering the 
apartment where his person was. The servants and 
attendants of these nobles remained in the anirtyards, 
of which there were two or three of great extent, and 
in the adjoining street, which was also spacious. 
They all remained in attendance horn niorning until 
night; and when his meals were served, the nobles were 
likewise served with equal profusion, and their ser- 



The Greatest Adventure in History i6i 

vants and secretaries also had their allowance. Daily 
his larder and wine-cellar were open to all who wished 
to eat and drink. The meals were served by three or 
four hundred youths, who brought on an infinite 
variety of dishes; indeed, whenever he dined or supped 
the table was loaded with every kind of flesh, fish, 
fruit, and vegetables that the country provided. As 
the climate is cold, they put a chafing-dish with live 
coals under every plate and dish to keep them warm. 
The meals were served in a large hall where Muteczuma 
was accustomed to eat, and the dishes quite filled the 
room, which was covered with mats and kept very 
clean. He sat on small cushions curiously wrought 
in leather. During the meals there were present, at 
a little distance from him, five or six elderly caciques, 
to whom he presented some of the food. And there 
was constantly in attendance one of the servants, who 
arranged and handed the dishes, and who received 
from others whatever was wanted for the supply of the 
table. Both at the beginning and end of every meal, 
they furnished water for the hands, and the napkins 
used on these occasions were never used a second 
time; this was the case also with the plates and dishes, 
which were not brought again, but new ones in place 
of them; it was also the same with the chafing-dishes. 
He is also dressed every day in four different suits, 
entirely new, which he never wears a second time. 
None of the caciques ever enter his palace with their 
feet covered, and when those for whom he sends enter 
his presence, they incline their heads and look down, 
bending their bodies; and when they address him they 
do not look in his face; this arises from excessive mod- 
esty and reverence. Whenever Muteczuma appeared 
in public, which was seldom the case, all those who 



id:: South American Fights and Fighters 

accompanied him or whom ho .K'c\dcnt.illv mot in the 
streets, turned away without looking toward ]\im, 
and others prostrated themselves until ho passovl. 
One of the nobles alwa\ s preceded him on these occa- 
sions, carrying three slender rods erect, which 1 sup- 
pose \\*as to give notice of the approach of his person. 
And when the}' descended from the litters, he took one 
of them in his hands, and held it until he reached the 
places where he was g<."»ing. So manv and various w*ere 
the ceremonies and customs observed b\' those in the 
service of Mutec/uma, that more space than I can 
spare would be required for the details, as well as a 
better memory than I have to recollect them; since no 
sultan or other infidel lord, of whom anv knowledge 
now exists, ever had so much ceremonial in their 
courts. 

VII. The Mooting with Montezuma 

It was earh- in the morning of November the Sth, 
1519, when Cortes, at the head of his little army, rode 
over one of the long causowa\ s and into the citv to his 
first meeting with Monte/.uma. As no one can toll 
better than he what happened, I lure insert his own, 
account of the episode: 

" The next dav after mv arrival at this citv, I departed 
on mv route, and having proceeded half a league, I 
entered upon a causewav that extends two leagues 
through the centre of the salt lake, until it reaches the 
great citv of Temixtitan (^Mexico\ which is built in the 
middle of the lake. . . . 

" I pursued mv course o\ or the above-mentioned 
causewax , and having proceeded half a league before 
arriviui: at the bodv o{ the citv of Temixtitan, 1 found 



The Greatest Adventure in History 163 

at its intersection with another causeway, which 
extends from this point to terra firma, a very strong 
fortress with two towers, surrounded by a double 
wall, twelve feet in height, with an embattled parapet, 
whicii commands the, two causeways, and has only 
two gates, one for the entering and the other for depart- 
ure. There came to meet me at this place nearly a 
thousand of the principal inhabitants of the great 
city, all uniformly dressed according to their custom 
in very rich costumes; and as soon as they had come 
within speaking distance, each one, as he approached 
me, performed a salutation in much use among them, 
by placing his hand upon the ground and kissing it; 
and thus I was kept waiting about an hour, until all 
had performed the ceremony. Connected with the 
city is a wooden bridge ten paces wide, where the 
causeway is open to allow the water free ingress and 
egress, as it rises and falls; and also for the security of 
the city, as they can remove the long and wide beams 
of which the bridge is formed, and replace them when- 
ever they wish; and there are many such bridges in 
different parts of the city, as Your Highness will per- 
ceive hereafter from the particular account I shall give 
of it. 

"When we had passed the bridge, the Serior Mutec- 
zuma came out to receive us, attended by about two 
hundred nobles, all barefooted, and dressed in livery, or a 
peculiar garb of fine cotton, richer than is usually worn; 
they came in two processions in close proximity to the 
houses on each side of the street, which is very wide and 
beautiful, and so straight that you can see from one 
end of It to the other, although it is two-thirds of a 
league in length, having on both sides large and ele- 
gant houses and temples. Muteczuma came through 



104 Sv>uui Aiucricaa I i^hts and Fighters 

' ' c^ 55tr\^et* att^^nvlevl bv twv^ IotvI^ one u}xm\ 
^ ^ . i v^tWr u|x\t\ hK< Wtt haixvl, one ot whom 

\vasi th^e $an¥? Bw>Wem;»n whos as 1 Kav^ mt^ntKMxevU 
can>e to n>eet n>e in a Httxrr, anJ the other wwiiJ the 
borother of Mutec£uma> Uxui v>i the oitv of Utiimlapa, 
whkh 1 had left the $;»n>e day; all thrtee wert^ dnfSiJevl 
in the stame manner, exoept that Mutec^uma woiv 
ishoess while the othei^ were without them, lie wa^ 
supixxrted in the ann$ of K>th, and as we approaches!, 
I alighted and advunoev? alone to saUue him; hut the 
twv attendant k>rds stv^pivvi me tv^ prt^vent mv tx^uoh- 
ing him> and they and he both performevi tKe o^rx^- 
t«onv of kijijtini^ the ground; after which he directed 
hi$ brv^ther who acvvmpanied him tv^ remain with me; 
the latter accoardin^y tCH>k n>e by the arm, w hile IVIuteo- 
ruma, with his other attendant, wulke^i a sdxort di.^ 
tance in fro^nt of me, and after he had s[v>ken tv^ me, 
all the odver nobles also came up to address n>f, and 
then went awuv in twc prwe5ijaon>i w ith great regular- 
ity, one after the other, and in this manner returnevl 
to the city. At the tin^e 1 advanced to speak to 
Mutecruma, I tvx^k off frv^m tin^f a cv>llar of pearls 
and glass dianK»nds^ and put it around his neck. After 
havins^ paxeeded along the street, one of his servants 
came bringing two cc»llars fonnevi of shell tish, enclosed 
in a rc>U of cloth, which were made from the shells of 
colorevl prawns or periwinkles, held by them in great 
esteem; and frv>m each cv>llar de}N^ndc\l eight golden 
prawns, hnisshevi in a very jx^rfect manner and about a 
hx»t and a half in length. When these were ba>ught 
Muteczuma turnevi tv^ward me and put them arv^und 
mv neck; he then returnevi along the street in the order 
alreadv described, until he reached a verv large and 
splendUd palace, in which wt> were to K^ quartered. 



The Greatest Adventure in History 165 

whi( li \r.i'i \)<<:u full/ prepared for our rccieption. H'; 
there tor^k rne [>y thf: hand and led rne into a spaciou/. 
saloon, in fronr of v/hich v/as a court, through which 
we entered. J J;i/ing caused me to sit down on a piece 
of rirh cjirpetin;/, which he had ordered to he made for 
himself, he told rne to await his return there, and then 
went av>/;)y. After a short space of rime, v/hen my 
people were nil hestowed in their quarters, he returned 
with rnuny and various jewels of gold and silver, feather 
work ;iMd five or six thousand pieces of cotton cloth, 
very ricli anrl of varied texture and finish. After hav- 
ing presented these to rne, he sat dov/n orj another piece 
of carpet they had placed for him near me, and being 
seated he discoursed as follows: 

"'It is now a long time since, by means of written 
records, we learned from our ancestors that neither 
myself nor any of those who inhabit this region were 
descended from its orirdnal inhabitants, but from 
strangers who emigrated hither from a very distant 
land; and we have also learned that a prince, whose 
vassals they all were, conducted our people into these 
parts, and then returned to his native land. He 
afterward came again to this country, after the lapse 
of much time, and found that his people had inter- 
married with the native inhabitants, by whom they had 
many children, and had built towns in which they 
resided; and when he desired them to return with him, 
they were unwilling to go, nor were they disposed to 
acknowledge him as their sovereign; so he departed 
from the country, and we have always heard that his 
descendants would come to conquer this land and 
reduce us to subjection as his vassals; and according 
to the direction from which you say you have come, 
namely the quarter where the sun rises, and from what 



1 66 South American Fights and Fighters 

you say of the great lord or king who sent you hither, 
we beheve and are assured that he is our natural sover- 
eign, especially as you say that it is a long time since 
you first had knowledge of us. Therefore, be assured 
that we will obey you, and acknowledge you for our 
sovereign in place of the great lord whom you mention, 
and that there shall be no default or deception on our 
part. And you have the power in all this land, I 
mean wherever my power extends, to command what 
is your pleasure, and it shall be done in obedience 
thereto, and all that we have is at your disposal. And 
since you are in your own proper land and your own 
house, rest and refresh yourself after the toils of your 
journey, and the conflicts in which you have been 
engaged, which have been brought upon you, as I well 
know, by all the people from Puntunchan to this place; 
and I am aware that the Cempoallans and the Tlasca- 
lans have told you much evil of me, but believe no more 
than you see with your own eyes, especially from those 
who are my enemies, some of whom were once my sub- 
jects, and having rebelled upon your arrival, make 
these statements to ingratiate themselves in your favor. 
These people, I know, have informed you that I pos- 
sessed houses with walls of gold, and that my carpets 
and other things in common use were of the texture of 
gold; and that I was a god, or made myself one, and 
many other such things. The houses, as you see, are of 
stone and lime and earth.' And then he opened his 
robes and showed his person to me, saying: 'You see 
that I am composed of flesh and bone like yourself, 
and that I am mortal and palpable to the touch,* at 
the same time pinching his arms and body with his 
hands. 'See,' he continued, 'how they have deceived 
you. It is true that I have some things of gold, which 



The Greatest Adventure in History 167 

my ancestors have left me; all that I have is at your 
service whenever you wish it. I am now going to my 
other houses where I reside; you will be here pro- 
vided with everything necessary for yourself and your 
people, and will suffer no embarrassment, as you are 
in your own house and country/ I answered him in 
respect to all that he had said, expressing my acknow- 
ledgments, and adding whatever the occasion seemed 
to demand, especially endeavoring to confirm him 
in the belief that Your Majesty was the sovereign they 
had looked for; and after this he took his leave, and 
having gone, we were liberally supplied with fowls, 
bread, fruits and other things required for the use of 
our quarters. In this way I was for six days amply 
provided with all that was necessary, and visited by 
many of the nobility." 

It throws a somewhat amusing light on the inter- 
view when we note that the presents exchanged were 
of great value on Montezuma's part, while the gift 
of Cortes was a collar of cheap imitation diamonds! 

The emotions of the Spaniards at this singular meet- 
ing between the immeasurable distance of the past 
and present were so strong that even the rough soldier 
felt it. "And when we beheld," says Bernal Diaz, 
"so many cities and towns rising up from the water, 
and other populous places situated on the terra firma, 
and that causeway, straight as a level, which went into 
Mexico, we remained astonished, and said to one 
another that it appeared like the enchanted castles 
which they tell of in the book of Amadis, by reason of 
the great towers, temples, and edifices which there 
were in the water, all of them work of masonry. Some 
of our soldiers asked if this that they saw was not a 
thing in a dream." 



1 68 South American Fights and Fighters 

Fiske thus felicitously alludes to it: "It may be 
well called the most romantic moment in all history, 
this moment when European eves first rested upon that 
city of wonders, the chief ornament of a stage of social 
evolution two full ethnical periods behind their own. 
To say that it was like stepping back across the cen- 
turies to visit the Nineveh of Sennacherib or hundred- 
gated Thebes, is but inadequatelv to depict the situa- 
tion, for it was a longer step than that. Such chances 
do not come t^^^ce to mankind, for when two grades 
of culture so \\4dely severed are brought into contact, 
the stronger is apt to blight and crush the weaker 
where it does not amend and transform it. In spite of 
its foul abominations, one sometimes feels that one 
would like to recall the extinct state of society in order 
to studv it. The devoted lover of historv, who ran- 
sacks all sciences for aid toward understandins the 
course of human events, who knows in what unex- 
pected ways one progress often illustrates other stages, 
will sometimes ^^^sh it were possible to resuscitate, 
even for one brief year, the vanished Citv of the Cactus 
Rock. Could such a work of enchantment be per- 
formed, however, our first feeling would doubtless 
be one of ineffable horror and disgust, like that of the 
knight in the old English ballad, who, folding in his 
arms a damsel of radiant beauty, finds himself in the 
embrace of a loathsome fiend." 

What the emotions of the Mexicans were we have 
no account, but it is not difficult to imagine them. 
Amazement as at the visitation of a god, fear begot of 
this gross superstition, apprehension of what might be 
the result of the comins; of these strange monsters, 
curiosity mingled wnth admiration; and as they looked 
at the long lines of fierce, dauntless, implacable Tlas- 



The Greatest Adventure in History 169 

calans who accompanied the Spaniards, their heredi- 
tary enemies, there must have swelled in their savage 
breasts feelings of deep and bitter hatred. 

Outwardly, however, all was calm. The Spaniards 
marched through the flower-decked streets to the great 
palace of AyxacatI, which had been assigned to them 
as a residence, and which was spacious and commo- 
dious enough to take them all in, bag and baggage, 
including their savage allies. It is one of the singular 
contradictions of the Aztec character that with all of 
their brutal religion and barbarism, they were passion- 
ately fond of flowers and like other barbarians rejoiced 
in color. "Flowers were used in many of the religious 
festivals, and there is abundant evidence, moreover, 
that the Mexicans were very fond of them. This is 
illustrated in the perpetual reference to flowers in old 
Mexican poems: 'They led me within a valley to a 
fertile spot, a flowery spot, where the dew spread out 
in glistening splendor, where I saw various lovely 
fragrant flowers, lovely odorous flowers, clothed with 
the dew, scattered around in rainbow glory; there they 
said to me, 'Pluck the flowers, whichever thou wishest; 
mayst thou, the singer, be glad, and give them to thy 
friends, to the chiefs, that they may rejoice on the 
earth.* So I gathered in the folds of my garments 
the various fragrant flowers, dehcate, scented, deli- 
cious. 

The will of Montezuma was supreme. Nothing 
dimmed the warmth and generosity of his splendid 
hospitality. There were no frowning looks, no mutter- 
ings of discontent, everything was joyous and pleasant, 
at least outwardly, yet not one of the Christians was 
blind to the peril in which he stood, or doubted that 
the least accident might precipitate an outbreak 



170 South American Fights and Fighters 

which would sweep thorn all trom off die taoe ot 
the earth. 

For six days the Spaniards remained the guests of the 
Mexican Emperor. Visits were exchanged, religious 
discussions were indulged in, and Cortes was onlv 
constrained from overthrowing their idols in the tem- 
ples which he visited, and substituting Christian 
emblems therein b\' force, bv the prudent counsel of 
the worthy priests, men remarkable tor their wisdom 
and their statesmanship, who accompanied him. Con- 
tinual efforts were made to convert Montezuma, but 
without results. 

That monarch, who was of a cheerful and jovial 
nature, professed great friendship for and interest in the 
Spaniards, whom he often visited and to whom he 
accorded many privileges. Such a condition ot affairs, 
however, could not last very long. The suspense was 
intolerable to a man of action like Cortes and to the 
men who tollowed him as well. Fhcv were not good 
waiters. Something had to be done. 

Into the mind of this Spanish soldier of tortune there 
leaped a bold design. He decided upon a course ot 
action, as amazing in its character, so tar-reaching 
in its result, that its conception and its execution almost 
thrust him into the ranks of the demi-gods. This pro- 
ject was nothing less than the seizure ot the person ot 
Montezuma in the midst of his capital, a city o\ three 
hundred thousand people, among whom were thou- 
sands o{ fierce and highly trained veteran warriors who 
counted their lives as nothing in the Kmperor*s need. 
Undoubtedly such an action was the basest ot treacher\', 
but Cortes had put himself in such a position that the 
nakedness of such an action did not prevail \\nth 
him tor a moment. He quieted his conscience with the 



The Greatest Adventure in History 171 

old reasoning that Montezuma was a heathen, and that 
oaths to him were by no means binding. 

Whether he quieted his conscience or not, something 
was necessary. He could not retire from Mexico after 
this ostensibly friendly visit. Such a withdrawal 
would not have suited his purposes at all, and it was 
more than possible that the moment he turned his 
back on the Aztec capital, he would be forced to fight 
for his life against conditions which would leave him 
little or no possibility of escape. It was really Monte- 
zuma's life and Hberty or Cortes* life and liberty. In 
such an alternative, there was no hesitation. 

VIII. The Seizure of the Emperor 

Occasion was soon found for the seizure. A chief 
on the sea coast had attacked and killed some of the 
men left at Vera Cruz. It was alleged that this was 
done by the orders of Montezuma. Cortes accom- 
panied by the hardiest and bravest of his companions, 
and after a night of prayer — singular with what good 
consciences they could pray for the success of the 
most nefarious undertaking! — visited Montezuma, 
and accused him of having instigated the crime. 
Montezuma denied it, and despatched messengers to 
the offending cacique, directing that he be put under 
close arrest and brought to the capital. This was all 
any reasonable man could expect, but Cortes and his 
companions were not reasonable. 

In spite of the fact that the prompt action of the 
Aztec had deprived them of the faintest pretext, they 
nevertheless at last declared to the unhappy monarch 
that he must accompany them to the pueblo, which he 
had assigned to them, and remain in the custody of 



' 172 South American Fights and Fighters 

the Spaniards until the matter had been decided. 
In vain Montezuma protested. His situation was 
unfortunate. He was surrounded by an intrepid body 
of steel-clad Spaniards, and although the room was 
filled with officers, courtiers and soldiers, he realized — 
indeed he was bluntly told — that the first act of hos- 
tihty against the Spaniards would result in his imme- 
diate death. He made a virtue of a necessity, and 
complied with the Spaniards' demand. Forbidding 
his subjects, who were moved to tears — tears of rage 
and anger, most probably — to assist him, he sub- 
mitted himself to the will of his captors, and went away 
with them. He had to go or he would have died then 
and there. Far better would it have been if he had 
chosen the nobler course, both for his fame and his 
empire. 

The affairs of the government were carried on as 
usual by Montezuma, to whom his officers and his 
counsellors had free access. Cortes even permitted him 
to go to the Temple on occasion for the ordinary wor- 
ship, but in every instance he was accompanied and 
practically surrounded by a body of one hundred com- 
pletely armed and thoroughly resolute Spaniards. 
Cortes did not attempt to interfere in the least degree 
with the national administration, although it was 
patent to everybody that as he held the person of the 
Emperor, he could also command, if he so elected, 
the power of the empire. 

Meanwhile, the Cacique Quahpopoca, who was 
guilty of the murder of the Spaniards on the coast, 
was brought into Mexico two weeks after the seizure 
of Montezuma. With a loyalty touchingly beautiful, 
he promptly declared that he had acted upon his 
own responsibility and that Montezuma had had noth- 



The Greatest Adventure in History 173 

ing whatever to do with it, which was, of course, highly 
improbable. The official clearing of Montezuma was 
complete; nevertheless, despite the testimony of Quah- 
popoca, Cortes actually put the Mexican monarch in 
double irons. It is true, the irons were removed 
almost immediately, and he was treated as he had 
been during his two weeks' captivity, with the greatest 
possible respect and deference, but the irons had not 
merely clasped the wrists and ankles of the unfor- 
tunate Aztec. They had entered his soul. 

Quahpopoca was burned in the public square. The 
heaping fagots which surrounded the stake were made 
of javelins and spears collected by Cortes with intrepid 
audacity and far-seeing prudence, from the public 
armory. Vast numbers of them were used. The 
populace looked on in sullen and gloomy silence. 
Montezuma was not merely the ruler of the country, 
but in some senses he was a deity, and his capture, 
together with the capture of the great lords of his 
family, who, under ordinary circumstances would 
have succeeded to his throne, paralyzed the national, 
social, political and religious organization. 

Cortes actually held his captive in this way until 
spring. The intervening months were not wasted. 
Expeditions were sent to all parts of the country to 
ascertain its resources and report upon them, so that, 
when the Spaniards took over the government, they 
would be prepared to administer it wisely and well. 
No such prudent and statesmanlike policy was inaugu- 
rated by any other conqueror. Cortes in this particular 
stands absolutely alone among the great adventurers, 
Spanish and otherwise. He was not a mere plun- 
derer of the people, he was laying a foundation for an 
empire. Vast treasures were, nevertheless, collected. 



174 South American Fights and Fighters 

Messengers were despatched to Charles V. with the 
letters which have already been quoted and with the 
royal share of the booty, which was great enough to 
insure them a favorable reception. 

What Cortes would have done further can only be 
surmised. Something happened suddenly which forced 
his hand. In the spring, Montezuma received word 
through an excellent corps of messengers which supplied 
him daily with information from all parts of the empire, 
of the arrival of a strange Spanish force on the coast. 
Mexico had no writing, but its messenger system was 
one of the best in the world. Messengers arrived 
daily from the farthest parts and confines of the Mexican 
empire, supplementing pictures, which the Mexicans 
drew very cleverly, with verbal accounts. Inciden- 
tally, there was no money in the empire, either. The 
art of coinage had not been attained. 

IX. The Revolt of the Capital 

Cortes was naturally much interested and not a little 
perturbed by the news. Soon the exact tidings reached 
him from the commander at Vera Cruz, that the force 
consisted of some twelve hundred men, including 
eighty horse, all under the command of one Panfilo 
de Narvaez, which had been organized, equipped and 
sent out by Cortes' old enemy, Velasquez, with 
instructions to seize him and his companions and send 
them back to Cuba for trial. Narvaez was loud in his 
threats of what he was going to do with Cortes and 
how he was going to do it. 

The great Spaniard acted with his usual prompt- 
ness. He left in charge of the city one Pedro de 
Alvarado, called from his fair hair, Tonatiuh, or the 



The Greatest Adventure in History 175 

child of the sun. Committing the care of Monte- 
zuma to this cavaHer and bidding him watch over him 
and guard him with his Hfe, as the safety of all depended 
upon him, Cortes with some two hundred and fifty 
men made a dash for the coast. It was two hundred 
and fifty against five times that number, but with the 
two hundred and fifty was a man whose mere presence 
equalized conditions, while with the twelve hundred 
and fifty was another whose braggart foolishness 
diminished their superiority until, in the end, it really 
amounted to nothing! 

Cortes actually surprised Narvaez in the town in 
which he had taken refuge and seized him after an 
attack — a night surprise of bold and audacious con- 
ception — by the two hundred and fifty against the 
twelve hundred which was completely successful. 
With Narvaez in Cortes's hands all opposition ceased 
on the part of the men. In one swoop Narvaez lost 
power, position and one eye, which had been knocked 
out during the contest, and Cortes found his follow- 
ing reinforced by so great a number and quality that 
he had never dreamed of such a thing. 

"You are, indeed, fortunate,'* said Narvaez to his 
conqueror, "in having captured me." 

"It is," said Cortes carelessly, "the least of the 
things I have done in Mexico!" 

While affairs were thus progressing favorably on 
the coast, the smouldering rebellion had at last broken 
out in Mexico, and Cortes received a message from 
Alvarado, bidding him return with all possible speed. 
There was not a braver soldier, a fiercer fighter, or a 
more resolute man in the following ,of Cortes than 
Pedro de Alvarado. When that has been said, how- 
ever, practically all has been said that can be said in 



176 South American Fights and Fighters - 

his favor. He was a rash, impetuous, reckless, head- 
long, tactless, unscrupulous man, and brutal and cruel 
to a high degree. 

His suspicions that the Aztecs, led hv Montezuma, 
were conspiring to overwhelm his small ibrce were 
aroused. It is probable that there was some truth 
in his apprehensions, although he could not point 
to anything very definite upon which to base them. 
He knew of but one way to deal with such a situation — 
by brute force. He waited until the great May Fes- 
tival of the Aztecs was being held, and then fell upon 
them in the midst of their joyous play and slew six 
hundred, including many of the noblest chiefs of the 
land. The outbreak was instant and universal. The 
house of Ayxacatl was at once besieged, the influx 
of provisions was stopped, and the pueblo was sur- 
rounded bv vast numbers of thoroughly enraged 
citizens. Neither the Spaniards nor the allies could 
leave the pueblo %^-ithout being overwhelmed. Alva- 
rado at last compelled Montezuma to show himself 
on the walls and bid the people stop fighting, to 
enable him to strengthen his position and hold 
it until the arrival of Cortes, and some fifteen 
hundred men, his own force and that of Narvaez 
combined. 

\Mien the conqueror met Alvarado he upbraided 
him and told him that he had behaved like a madman. 
There was little or no provision. Cortes now made 
the mistake of sending Cuitlahua, the brother of 
Montezuma, out into the citv with instructions for him 
to have the markets opened at once and secure pro- 
visions for the Spaniards and their horses. Cuitlahua, 
being free, called the council of priests. This council 
at once deposed Montezuma and elected Cuitlahua 



The Greatest Adventure in History 177 

emperor and priest in his place. The revolution 
and the religion now had a head. 

The next morning an attack of such force was 
delivered that many of even the stoutest-hearted Span- 
iards quailed before it. The slaughter of the natives 
was terrific. The Spanish cannon opened long lanes 
through the crowded streets. The Spanish horse 
sallied forth and hacked and hewed broad pathways 
up the different avenues. Still, the attack was pressed 
and was as intrepid as if not a single Aztec had died. 
The roar that came up from every quarter of the city, 
from the house tops, from the crowded streets, from 
the Temples, was in itself enough to appall the bravest. 

X. In God's Way 

Finally Cortes resorted to Alvarado*s expedient. 
He compelled the unhappy Montezuma to mount the 
walls of the palace and bid the people disperse. When 
he appeared in all his splendid panoply upon the roof 
of the palace there was a strange silence. He was no 
longer priest, he was no longer emperor, he was no 
longer a power, he was no longer a god, but some of the 
old divinity seemed to cling to him, to linger around 
him still. The situation was so tragic that even the 
meanest soldier, Mexican or Spanish, felt Its import. 
A long time the Aztec looked over his once smiling 
capital, and Into the faces of his once subordinate 
people. Finally he began to address them. He bade 
them lay down their arms and disperse. 

The people, led by the great lords and Montezuma's 
brother, Cuitlahua, and his nephew, Guatemoc, 
answered with a roar of rage, and the roar spread as the 
purport of the message was communicated to those 



178 South American Fights and Fighters 

further back. Montezuma stood appalled. The next 
instant a rain of missiles was actually launched at him 
and the Spaniards who stood by his side. A stone 
hurled, it is said by young Guatemoc, struck him in 
the forehead. He reeled and fell. With the bitter 
words: "Woman! woman!" ringing in his ears, he 
was carried away by the Spaniards. His face, says 
Lew Wallace, was the face of a man " breaking because 
he was in God's way!" He lived a few days after that, 
but he refused to eat, and repeatedly tore the bandages 
from his wounds until death put an end to his miseries. 
The stone that had struck him had broken his heart. 
Neither Cortes nor Montezuma himself knew that he 
had been deposed. Cortes and the principal Spaniards 
visited him and endeavoured to console him, but he 
turned his face to the wall and would have none of them. 
It was said afterward that he became a Christian, 
but it is most probably not true. He died as he had 
lived. Helps thus describes the scene and the great 
Montezuma's end: 

" He was surrounded by Spanish soldiers, and was 
at first received with all respect and honor by his 
people. Wlien silence ensued, he addressed them in 
very loving words, bidding tliem discontinue the attack, 
and assuring them that die Spaniards would depart 
from Mexico. It is not probable that much of his dis- 
course could have been heard by the raging multi- 
tude. But, on the other hand, he was able to hear 
w^hat their leaders had to say, as four of the chiefs 
approached near him, and with tears addressed him, 
declaring their grief at his imprisonment. They told 
him that they had chosen his brother as their leader, 
that they had vowed to their gods not to cease fighting 




The Death of Montezuma 

From an old engraving 



The Greatest Adventure in History 179 

until the Spaniards were all destroyed, and that each 
day they prayed to their gods to keep him free and 
harmless. They added, that when their designs were 
accompHshed, he should be much more their lord 
than heretofore, and that he should then pardon them. 
Amongst the crowd, however, were, doubtless, men 
who viewed the conduct of Montezuma with intense 
disgust, or who thought that they had already shown 
too much disrespect toward him ever to be pardoned. 
A shower of stones and arrows interrupted the parley; 
the Spanish soldiers had ceased for the moment to pro- 
tect Montezuma v^th their shields; and he was severely 
wounded in the head and in two other places. The 
miserable monarch was borne away, having received 
his death-stroke; but whether it came from the wounds 
themselves, or from the indignity of being thus treated 
by his people, remains a doubtful point. It seems, 
however, that, to use some emphatic words which have 
been employed upon a similar occasion: *He turned 
his face to the wall, and would be troubled no more.* 
"It is remarkable that he did not die like a Chris- 
tian,* and I think this shows that he had more force 
of mind and purpose than the world has generally 
been inclined to give him credit for. To read Monte- 
zuma's character rightly, at this distance of time, and 
amidst such a wild perplexity of facts, would be very 
difficult, and is not very important. But one thing, 

* "I am not ignorant that it has been asserted that Montezuma received the rite 
of baptism at the hands of his Christian captors. See Bustamante's notes on Chimal- 
pain's Translation of Gomara (Historia de las Conquistas de Hernando Cortes. Carlos 
Maria de Bustamante. Mexico, 1826, p. 287). But the objection raised by Tor- 
quemada — the silence of some of the best authorities, such as Oviedo, Ixlilxochitl, 
Histoire des Chichimeques, and of Cortes himself; and, on the other hand, the 
distinctly opposing testimony of Bernal Diaz (see cap. 127), and the statement of 
Herrera, who asserts that Montezuma, at the hour of his death, refused to quit the 
religion of his fathers. ("No se queria apartar de la Religion de sus Padres." Hist, 
de las Indias, dec. II. lib. x, cap. lO"), convinces me that no such baptism took place. 



i8o South American Fights and Fighters 

I think, is discernible, and that is, that his manners 
were very gracious and graceful. I dwell upon this, 
because I conceive it was a characteristic of the race; 
and no one will estimate this characteristic lightly, who 
has observed how very rare, even in the centres of civi- 
lized life, it is to find people of fine manners, so that 
in great capitals but very few persons can be pointed 
out who are at all transcendent in this respect. The 
gracious delight which Montezuma had in giving was 
particularly noticeable; and the impression which he 
made upon Bernal Diaz may be seen in the narrative 
of this simple soldier, who never speaks of him other- 
wise as 'the great Montezuma*; and, upon the occa- 
sion of his death, remarks that some of the Spanish 
soldiers who had known him mourned for him as if he 
had been a father, 'and no wonder,* he adds, 'seeing 
that he was so good.'" 

Cortes sent out the body to the new king, and Mon- 
tezuma was mourned over by the Spaniards, to whom 
he had always been gracious, and probably, by his own 
people; but little could be learned of what the Mexicans 
thought, or did, upon the occasion, by the Spaniards, 
who only saw that Montezuma's death made no differ- 
ence in the fierceness of the enemy's attack. 

Meanwhile the situation of the Spainards was inde- 
scribable. There was mutiny and rebellion among 
them. The soldiers of Narvaez, who looked for a 
pleasant promenade through a land of peace and 
plenty, were appalled. There was daily, desperate 
fighting. TI;ie Mexicans had manned the temple of 
the war-god which overlooked the Spanish pueblo, 
and Cortes determined to capture it. With a large 
body of chosen men he attempted its escalade. It 
was crowded to the very top with the most resolute 



The Greatest Adventure in History i8i 

Aztecs, and they fought for it with the courage of 
fanaticism and despair itself. The feather shields 
were no match for the steel cuirasses. The wooden 
clubs, stuck full of sharp pieces of obsidian, could not 
compete on equal terms with the Toledo blades. 
Step by step, terrace by terrace, the Spaniards fought 
their way to the very top. As if by mutual consent, 
the contests in the streets stopped and all eyes were 
turned upon this battle in the air. 

Arriving at the great plateau upon the crest, the 
Spaniards were met by five hundred of the noblest 
Aztecs, who, animated by their priests, made the last 
desperate stand for the altars of their gods. 

"And how can men die better, 
Than in facing fearful odds, 
For the ashes of their Fathers, 
And the temples of their Gods?" 

In the course of the terrific conflict which ensued, 
two of the bravest leaped upon Cortes, wrapped their 
arms around him, and attempted to throw themselves 
off the top of the temple, devoting themselves to death, 
if so be, they might compass their bold design. It 
was on the very verge of eternity that Cortes tore him- 
self free from them. Singled out for attack because of 
his position and because of his fearlessness in battle, 
his life was saved again and again by his followers, 
until it seemed to be miraculously preserved. 

After a stupendous struggle the summit of the 
temple was carried. Amid the groans of the populace, 
the Spaniards tumbled down from its resting-place the 
hideous image of the war-god, and cornpleted in Aztec 
eyes the desecration of the temple. They were vic- 
torious, but they had paid a price. Dead Spaniards 



iS: South American Fights ;iad l-l^htcrs 

dotted tho torr.Kvs, the sunlight. gU\iming on their 
armor, picking them out amid the dark, naked bodies 
of the Mexicans. Of those who had survived the 
encounter, there was scarcely one but had sustained 
one or more wounds, some of them fearful in character. 
The Mexicans had not died in vain. 

Leaving a guard at the temple, Cortes came back to 
the garrison. The attack was resumed at once bv the 
natives. Attempts were made to burn the thatched 
roofs of the pueblo. A rain of missiles was poured 
upon it. The Spaniards made sallv after sallv, inflict- 
ing great slaughter, but losing al^^-avs a little themselves. 
The Aztecs would sometimes seize a Spaniard and 
bear him otF alive to sacrifice him on some high pvra- 
mid temple in full view of his wretched comrades 
below. The Spaniards fired cannon after cannon, but 
to no avail, Thev were starving, thev were becom- 
ing sick, and they were covered with wounds; their 
allies, who took part gallantlv in all the hard fighting, 
suffered frightful losses. It was at last reluctantly 
agreed amonir the leaders that their onlv salvation was 
the evacuation of the citv. 

XL The Melancholv Night 

Although the course thus thrust upon them was 
indeed a hard one, there was nothing else to be done. 
Sick, wounded, starving, d^•ing, they a^uld bv no 
means maintain themselves longer in the citv. Fight 
as thev might and would, the end would come speedily, 
and would mean annihilation. Happy in that event 
would be those who died upon the field, for every 
living captive, whatever his cc»ndition, would be reserved 
for that frii^htful sacrifice to the war-o\xi. in which his 



The Greatest Adventure in History 183 

body would be opened, and his reeking heart torn, 
almost while still beating, from his breast. To retreat 
was almost as dangerous as it was to remain. It was 
certain, however, that some would get through in that 
attempt, although it was equally certain that many 
would not. 

Cortes, mustering his soldiers and allies, after a day 
of heart-breaking fighting, disclosed the situation to 
them in blunt soldier-like words, although they all 
knew it as well as he, and then the hasty preparations 
began. A vast treasure had been amassed by the 
Spaniards. Making an effort to preserve the fifth 
portion of it, which by law belonged to the King, 
Cortes threw open the treasure chamber and bade the 
rest help themselves. He cautioned them, however, 
that those who went the lightest, would have the 
greatest prospects for escape, a warning which many, 
especially among those who had come to the country 
with Narvaez, chose to disregard. 

The causeway along which they determined to 
fly and which connected Mexico with the mainland 
was pierced at intervals to admit passage from 
one portion of the lake to the other. The bridges 
which usually covered these openings had been taken 
away by the A/tecs. Cortes caused a temporary 
bridge or pontoon to be built which was to be carried 
with the fugitives to enable them to pass the openings. 

The night was the first of July, 1520. It was pitch 
dark and a heavy rain was falling. The forces con- 
sisted of twelve hundred and fifty Spaniards, of whom 
eighty were mounted, and six thousand Tlascalans. 
They were divided into three divisions. The advance 
was under the command of Juan Valesquez, Cortes 
led the main body, and the rear was put in the charge 



1 84 South American Fights and Fighters 

of the rash,cruel,but heroic Alvarado. The less severely 
wounded were siipponed by their comrades, and 
those unable to walk were carried on litters or mounted 
on horses. INIontezuma had died the night before. 
Any lingering hopes of being able to effect peace 
throu£^h his influence had departed. Leaving every-- 
thing they could not carrv, the Spaniards, after prayer, 
confession and absolution, threw open the gates,* and 
entered the city. 

Midnight was approaching. The streets and avenues 
were silent and deserted. The retreat proceeded 
cautiouslv for a httle wav, unmolested, when suddenly 
a deep, booming sound roared like thunder over the 
heads of the Spaniards, through the black night, filHng 
their hearts with alarm. Cortes recognized it at once. 
The Aztecs were awake and ready. The priests in 
the g;reat teocallis, or temple pyramids, were beating 
the s;reat drum of the war-god, Huitzilopocahtli. Lights 
appeared here and there in the town, the clashing of 
arms was heard here and there on the broad avenues. 
Lender the hghts farther up the streets could be seen 
files of troops moving. The hour was full of portent. 

Dragging their artillery, carry-ing their wounded, 
bearins; their treasure, the Spaniards and their allies 
passed rapidly through the streets. Before the advance 
reached the first opening in the causeway it was already 
hotly eno;a2;ed. The water on either side of the cause- 
way suddenly swarmed with canoes. Spears, javelins, 
arrows, heavy war-clubs with jagged pieces of obsidian 
were hurled upon the Spaniards on the causeway. In 
front of them, almost, it seemed, for the whole length, the 

* These gates they had made themselves. The Aztecs had not learned the art of 
making gates or doors. The exits and entrances of their houses were dosed, if at all 
•with portieres. 



The Greatest Adventure in History 185 

Indians were massed. Step by step, by the hardest 
kind of hand-to-hand fighting, the Spaniards and 
their aUies arrived at the first opening. Their loss 
had been frightful already. They were surrounded 
and attacked from all sides. Indians scrambled up the 
low banks in the darkness, seized the feet of the flying 
Spaniards and strove to draw them into the water. 
Many a white man, many a TIascalan locked in the 
savage embrace of some heroic Aztec, stumbled or 
was dragged into the lake and was drowned in the 
struggle. The frightened horses reared and plunged 
and created great confusion. The golden treasure 
with which many had loaded themselves proved a 
frightful incumbrance. Those who could do so, flung 
it away; those too bitterly occupied in fighting for 
their lives could do little but drive, thrust, hew, hack 
and struggle in the dark and slippery way. 

But the army did advance. Arriving at the brink 
of the first opening, the bridge was brought up and the 
division began its passage. It had scarcely crossed 
the gap when under the pressure of tremendous fear, 
the second division, in spite of all that could be done 
to refrain and control them by Cortes and his officers 
— and there were no braver men on earth — crowded 
on the frail bridge. The structure which was suffic- 
iently strong for ordinary and orderly passage, gave 
way, precipitating a great mass of Spaniards and 
Indians into the causeway. Cortes with his own 
hands, assisted by a few of the cooler veterans, tried to 
lift up the shattered remains of the bridge but was 
unable to do anything with it. It was ruined beyond 
repair, and sank into a splintered mass of timber under 
the terrific pressure to which it had been subjected. 
A passage at that gap was afforded to those who came 



1 86 South American Fights and Fighters 

after because it was filled level with dead bodies of 
Spaniards, Indians and horses, to say nothing of guns, 
baggage and equipment. 

By this time the advance guard was again hea\-ily 
engaged. The Spaniards and their allies staggered 
along the dvke, fighting desperately all the time. 
Velasquez, leading the advance division was killed 
at the brink of the second opening. The wretched 
fugitives were driven headlong into the second open- 
ino- which was soon choked with horses and men as 
the first had been. Over this living, dving bridge the 
survivors madly ploughed. Some of them led by 
Cortes himself found a ford on the side. Althoug-h 
they were cut down by the hundreds, there seemed to 
be no end to the Aztecs. The rain still fell. The 
drum of the war-god mingled with frightful peals of 
thunder, and the shrill cries of the Mexicans rose higher 
and higher. The Spaniards were sick, wounded, 
beaten and terrified. Only Cortes and his captains 
and a few of his veterans preserved the slightest sem- 
blance of organization. 

The third gap was passed by the same awful expe- 
dient as the other two had been. There was not a 
great distance from the third opening to the mainland. 
The few who had passed over rushed desperately for 
the shore. Way back in the rear, last of all, came 
Alvarado. There was a strange current in the lake, 
and as he stood all alone at die last opening, confront- 
ing the pursuers, his horse having been killed under 
him, a s\%-ift movement of the water swept awa}' the 
gorged mass of bodies. Torches in the canoes enabled 
the Aztecs to recognize Alvarado, Tonatiuh, the child 
of the sun. His helmet had been knocked off and his 
fair hair streamed over his shoulders. He indeed would 



The Greatest Adventure in History 187 

be a prize for their sacrifice, second only to Cortes 
himself. With furious cries, the most reckless and 
intrepid leaped upon the dyke and rushed at him. At 
his feet lay his neglected lance. Dropping his sword, 
he seized his spear, swiftly plunged the point of it into 
the sand at the bottom of the pass, and, weighted 
though he was with his armor, and weak from his 
wounds and from the loss of blood, leaped to safety 
on the other side. To this day, this place of Alvarado's 
marvelous leap is pointed out. Like Ney, Alvarado 
was the last of that grand army, and like the French 
commander, also, he might properly be called the 
bravest of the brave. 

Darkness was not the usual period for Aztec fight- 
ing. It was this alone that saved the lives of the 
remaining few for, having seen Alvarado stagger to 
freedom along the causeway, the Aztecs concluded 
that they had done enough and returned to the city 
rejoicing. They took back with them many Spaniards 
and Tlascalans as captives for sacrifice and the canni- 
balistic feast which followed. 

When day broke, Cortes sitting under a tree, which 
is still to be seen in Mexico,* ordered the survivors 
to pass in review before him. They numbered five 
hundred Spaniards and two thousand Tlascalans and 
a score of horses. Seven hundred and fifty Spaniards 
had been killed or taken captive and four thousand 
Tlascalans. All the artillery had been lost, seven 
arquebuses had been saved, but there was no powder. 
Half the Spaniards were destitute of any weapons 
and the battle-axes and spears which had been saved 

* It is growing very old and is badly decayed. The newspapers report that efforts 
are being made by experts to try a course of treatment which will preserve this venerable 
and interesting forest relic, already nearly four hundred years old, but it is not believed 
that success will attend their endeavors. 



i88 South American Fights and Fighters 

were jagged and broken. Their armor was battered 
and the most important parts, as helmets, shields, 
breastplates, had been lost. Some of the Tlascalans 
still presei^'ed their savage weapons. There was 
scarcely a man, Spanish or Tlascalan who was not 
suffering from some wound. 

It is no wonder that when Cortes saw the melan- 
choly and dejected array, even his heart of steel gave 
way and he buried his face in his hands and burst into 
tears. This terrible night has alwavs been known 
in history as la noche triste — the melancholy night. 
Melancholy indeed it was. Surelv the situation of a 
man was never more desperate. If the Mexicans had 
rejoiced in the leadership of a Cortes, thev would have 
mustered their forces and fallen upon the Spaniards 
without the delay of a moment, and the result could 
only have been annihilation. But the Mexicans 
themselves had suffered terrifically. Thev had won a 
great victor}', but they had paid a fearful price for it. 
Xow they wanted to enjoy it. They wished to sacri- 
fice their captives to their gods, and they thought that 
there was no hope for the Spaniards, and that thev 
might overwhelm them at their leisure. 

This is Sir x\rthur Helps* vivid description of the 
awful retreat: 

*'A little before midnight the stealthy march began. 
The Spaniards succeeded in laving down the pontoon 
over the first bridge-way, and the vanguard with 
Sandoval passed over; Cortes and his men also passed 
over; but while the rest were passing, the Mexicans 
gave the alarm with loud shouts and blowing of horns. 
'Tlaltelulco!* Tlaltelulco!' they exclaimed, 'come out 
quickly with your canoes; the teules are going; cut 

* " Tlaltelulco" was the quarter of the town -where the market ■s-as siraated. 



The Greatest Adventure in History 189 

them off at the bridges/ Almost immediately after 
this alarm, the lake was covered with canoes. It 
rained, and the misfortunes of the night commenced 
by two horses slipping from the pontoon into the water. 
Then, the Mexicans attacked the pontoon-bearers so 
furiously that it was impossible for them to raise it 
up again. In a very short time the water at that part 
was full of dead horses, Tlascalan men, Indian women, 
baggage, artillery, prisoners, and boxes {petacas) 
which, I suppose, supported the pontoon. On every 
side the most piteous cries were heard: *Help me! 
I drown!' 'Rescue me! They are killing me!' Such 
vain demands were mingled with prayers to the Virgin 
Mary and to Saint James. Those that did get upon 
the bridge and on the causeway found hands of 
Mexicans ready to push them down again into the 
water. 

"At the second bridge-way a single beam was found, 
which doubtless had been left for the convenience of 
the Mexicans themselves. This was useless for the 
horses, but Cortes diverging, found a shallow place 
where the water did not reach further than up to the 
saddle, and by that he and his horsemen passed (as 
Sandoval must have done before). He contrived, also 
to get his foot-soldiers safely to the mainland, though 
whether they swam or waded, whether they kept the 
line of the causeway, or diverged into the shallows, 
it is difficult to determine. Leaving the vanguard 
and his own division safe on shore, Cortes vnth a small 
body of horse and foot, returned to give what assis- 
tance he could to those who were left behind. All 
order was now lost, and the retreat was little else than 
a confused slaughter, although small bodies of the 
Spaniards still retained sufficient presence of mind 



I90 South American Fights and Fighters 

to act together, rushing forward, clearing the space 
about tliem, making their way at each moment with 
loss of life, but still some few survivors sr^ttincr onward. 
Few, indeed, of the rear-guard could have escaped. 
It is told as a wonder of Alvarado, that, coming to the 
last bridge, he made a leap, which has bv many been 
deemed impossible, and cleared the vast aperture. 
\Mien Cortes came up to him, he was found accompanied 
by only seven soldiers and eight Tlascalans, all covered 
with blood from their many wounds. They told Cortes 
tliat tliere was no use in going further back, that all 
who remained alive were there N\-ith him. Upon this 
the General turned; and the small and melancholy 
band o{ Spaniards pushed on to Tlacuba, Cortes pro- 
tecting the rear. It is said that he sat down on a 
stone in the village called Popotla near Tlacuba, and 
wept; a rare occurrence, for he was not a man to waste 
any energ}- in weeping while aught remained to be 
done. The country was aroused against them, and 
tliey did not rest for the night till they had fortihed 
themselves in a temple on a hill near Tlacuba, where 
afterward was built a church dedicated, very appro- 
priately, to Our Lady oi' Refuge i^a ^ nostra Sc'riora 
dc los Rc'nu'Jios).'' 

There is an old story of a Roman general, who after 
a most terrihc defeat, a defeat due largely to his own 
incompetency, not only escaped censure but was 
officially thanked by the senate, because he declared 
publicly that he did not despair of the republic. 0{ 
that same temper was Cortes. 

Exhorting his men in tlie face of this awful peril 
which menaced them to conduct themselves as white 
men, as Spaniards, and as soldiers ot the Cross, Cortes 
led his army toward Tlascala. Upon the position of 



The Greatest Adventure in History 191 

that republic absolutely depended the future. It 
depends upon the way you look at the situation as to 
how you estimate the conduct of these dusky alHes 
of the unfortunate conqueror. Had there been any 
national feeling among them, had their hatred of the 
Aztecs been less, they might have broken their agree- 
ments with the Spaniards and overwhelmed them, 
but the hatred of the Tlascalans did not permit 
them to look beyond the present day. They decided 
to maintain the alliance they had entered into 
with Cortes and welcomed him with open arms. 
They gave him a chance to recuperate, to get 
something to eat, and to dress the wounds of his 
men. All the Spaniards wanted was time to bring 
about the inevitable downfall of Mexico and the 
Mexicans. 

Among the men who had followed Narvaez was a 
Negro who had brought with him the germs of small- 
pox, which were communicated to the Aztecs in the 
city. It spared neither rich nor poor, as one of the 
first victims was their leader, Cuitlahua. The electors 
chose his nephew to succeed him, the youthful Gua- 
temoc, or, as he was commonly called, Guatemotzin. 
In some respects in spite of the lack of the sagacity 
and farsightedness of Cuitlahua, he was a better man 
for the problem, for he at once mustered his forces 
and launched them upon Cortes and the Tlascalans 
in the valley of Otumba. The Tlascalans had fur- 
nished shelter and provisions to Cortes, and had 
resolved to stand by their treaty with him, but they had 
not yet furnished him with any great assistance. A 
strong party in the council had been entirely opposed 
to doing anything whatever for him. Cortes prac- 
tically had to fight the battle alone and the battle had 



192 South American Fights and Fighters 

to he won. He and his fought, as the sapng is, with 
halters around their necis. 

All day long the Spaniards and their few allies 
fought up and down the narrow valley. Defeat meant 
certain death. They must conquer or be tortured, 
sacrificed and eaten. It was Cortes himself who 
decided the issue. ^^ ith .-Vlvarado and a few of the 
other captains, he tinally broke through the Aztec 
centre, with his own hand killed the Aztec general, to 
whom Guatemoc had commined the battle, and seized 
the Aztec standard. At the close of the long hours of 
fighting the natives broke and fled, and the supremacy 
ot Cortes and the Spaniards was once more established. 

Wavering Tlascala decided for Cortes and he was 
received with generous, roval and munificent hos- 
pitality, which accorded him ever\Thing he asked. 
Messengers were despatched to Hispaniola for rein- 
forcements and ever)- preparation made for the renewal 
of the campaign. During the fall, troops, horses, men, 
guns and thousands ot the flower of the Tlascalan 
army were placed at Cortes's disposal. He occupied 
them bv sending expeditions in ever\- direction, thus re- 
storing their morale and punishing the savage tribes 
who had revolted against the Spanish rule and had re- 
turned to their old allegiance to the Aztec emperor. 
The punishments were fearful. The resources of the 
Mexicans were gradually cut off and by the end of the 
^•ear the Aztecs realized that they would have to fight 
their last battle alone. These successful campaigns 
reestablished the prestige which the Spaniards had lost. 
The people ever^-where knew that they were no longer 
gods, but thev now enjoyed a higher reputation, that 
of being invincible. 

Cortes was resolved to attack Mexico. With a 



The Greatest Adventure in History 193 

prudence as great as his determination he decided to 
neglect no precaution which would insure his success. 
He caused to be built a number of brigantines by 
which he could secure the command of the lake, and 
thereby give access to the city for his troops and allies. 
These brigantines were built at Tlascala under the 
supervision of the sailors of the expedition. The 
rigging of the ships, which had been destroyed, was 
useful in fitting them out. They were built in pieces 
and arrangements were made to carry them over the 
mountains and put them together at the lake when the 
campaign began. Guns and provisions were also 
amassed. Powder was brought from Cuba and it 
was also made by means of the sulphur deposits of 
the volcanoes round about. The troops were daily 
drilled and trained. Daily prayers were held, and 
every effort was made to give the forthcoming campaign 
the spirit of a crusade. The strictest moral regulations 
were promulgated. In short, nothing was left undone 
to bring about the downfall of Mexico. 

On his part, Guatemoc was not idle. He summoned 
to his assistance all the tribes that remained loyal to 
him, especially those to the west, not subjected to the 
Spanish attack. He strove by bribery to detach those 
who had given their adherence to Cortes. Vast num- 
bers of allies assembled in Mexico, which was pro- 
visioned for a siege. Everything that occurred to 
the minds of these splendid barbarians was done. 
After having done all that was possible, with resolu- 
tion which cannot be commended too highly, they 
calmly awaited the onset of the Spaniards. 

On Christmas day, 1520, Cortes took up the march 
over the mountains again for the great city of the 
cactus rock. 



194 South American Fights and Fighters 

XII. The Siege and Destruction of Mexico 

It was April of the next year when Cortes at last 
arrived before the city and began the siege. The 
force which he had mustered for this tremendous 
undertaking consisted of seven hundred Spanish 
infantry, one hundred and twenty arquebuses, eighty- 
six horsemen, twelve cannon, and a countless multi- 
tude of Tlascalan fighters together with numbers of 
slaves and servants. 

As the city was connected with the mainland by 
three causeways, it was necessary to invest it on three 
sides. The army was divided into three equal divi- 
sions. He himself commanded the force that was to 
attack along the south causeway; with him was San- 
doval, his most trusted and efficient lieutenant; Alva- 
rado led that which was to advance over the west 
causeway and Olid was to close the north causeway. 
The brigantines were brought over the mountains by 
hand by thousands of Tlascalans. There w^ere no 
vehicles or highways of any sort in Mexico; the Mexi- 
cans not having domesticated any animals there was 
no use for anything broader than a foot-path, a fact 
which throws an interesting side-light on their civili- 
zation, by the way. These Spanish boats were put 
together on the shores of the lake and when they were 
launched they served to close the ring of steel which 
surrounded the doomed city. 

The three great tribal divisions of the Aztec empire 
were the Aztecs themselves, the Cholulans and the Tez- 
cocans, Cholula had been conquered and with Tezcoco 
at this critical juncture went over to the Spaniards, 
leaving Guatemoc and his Aztecs to fight the last fight 



The Greatest Adventure in History 195 

alone. Besides the forces enumerated, each Spanish 
division was accompanied by formidable bodies of 
Tlascalans. The Tlascalans were nearly, if not quite, 
as good fighters as the Aztecs; perhaps they were 
better fighters, so far as their numbers went, when 
led and supported by the white people. 

The first thing that Cortes did was to cut the aque- 
duct which carried fresh water into the city. The 
lake of Tezcoco in which Mexico stood was salt. By 
this one stroke, Cortes forced the inhabitants to depend 
upon a very meagre, scanty supply of water from wells 
in the city, many of which were brackish and unpala- 
table. The shores of the lake were swept bare by the 
beleaguerers. Iztatapalan, a rocky fortress was taken 
by storm and on April 21, 1521, the first attack was 
delivered along the causeways. The Mexicans met 
the advance with their customary intrepidity. The 
water on either side of the causeway swarmed with 
canoes. Thousands of warriors poured out of the 
city. The canoes swept down the lake intending to 
take the Spaniards in reverse and then pour in a terrible 
flank fire of missiles as they had done on the Melan- 
choly Night. Cortes sustained this fire for a short 
time in order to draw the canoes as far toward him as 
possible, then he let loose the brigantines. 

These brigantines were boats propelled by oars 
and sails on a single mast. They carried about a 
score of armed men and were very well and stoutly 
built. I suppose them to have been something like 
a modern man-o'-war cutter. They played havoc 
v^th the frail canoes. Their solid construction, their 
higher free-board, that is, the height they were above 
the water-line, the armor of their crews and the fact 
that the wind happened to be favorable and they 



196 South American Fights and Fighters 

could sail instead of row that morning, all contributed 
to the utter and complete destruction of the Indian 
flotilla. Canoes were splintered and sunk. Men 
were killed by the hundreds. They strove to climb 
up the slippery sides of the causeways and dykes. 
The Spaniards thrust them off into the deep water 
with their spears or cut them to pieces with their swords. 
The battle along the causeways, which were narrow, 
although quite wide enough for a dozen horsemen 
abreast, was terrible. The Aztecs literally died in their 
tracks, disdaining to fly. The Spaniards made their 
way over a floor of dead and writhing bodies. 

Bare breasts, however resolute the hearts that beat 
beneath them, were no match for the steel cuirasses. 
The wooden shields did not even blunt the edge of the 
Toledo blade; the obsidian battle-axes could not 
contest with the iron maces. The jewelled feather 
work of the proudest noble was not equal even to the 
steel-trimmed leather jerkin of the poorest white 
soldier. The Spaniards literally cut their way, hewed, 
hacked, thrust their way into the city. 

Here the fighting was slightly more equalized. The 
low roofs of the houses and pueblos swarmed with 
warriors. They rained missiles down upon the Span- 
iards' heads, while a never diminishing mob hurled 
itself into the faces of the white men. The Aztecs 
could have done more damage if they had not sacri- 
ficed everything in order to capture the Spaniards 
alive. In some instances they succeeded in their 
purpose. The fighting which was the same in all three 
of the causeways lasted all day and then the Spaniards 
retired to their several camps. 

Save for the fact that they afterward cleared the 
lake of the canoes by the aid of the brigantines, one 



The Greatest Adventure in History 197^ 

day's fighting was like another. The Spaniards would 
march into the city, slaughter until their arms were 
weary. They would lose a few here and there every 
day. The Tlascalans who took their part in all the 
fighting lost many. The end of the day would see 
things in statu quo. There were enough of the Indians 
even to sacrifice one hundred of them to one Spaniard 
and still maintain the balance of power. Cortes 
observed that he might fight this way until all of his 
army had melted away by piecemeal and have taken 
nothing. 

He determined upon the dreadful expedient of 
destroying the city as he captured it. After coming 
to this decision, he summoned to his aid large bodies 
of the subject tribes. Thereafter, while the Spaniards 
and the Tlascalans fought, the others tore down that 
portion of the city which had been taken. The build- 
ings were absolutely razed to the ground and nothing 
whatever was left of them. Canals were filled, gar- 
dens were ruined, trees cut down and even the walls 
of the city torn apart. In short, what once had been 
a teeming populous quarter of the city, abounding in 
parks, gardens and palaces, was left a desert. There 
was not enough power left in the Aztec Confederacy 
to rebuild the devastated portions over night and the 
Spaniards daily pressed their attack on every side 
with relentless rigor. 

The Mexicans were slowly constricted to an ever 
narrowing circle. The Spaniards seized and choked 
up the wells. The Mexicans were dying of thirst. 
The brigantines swept the lake and prevented any 
reenforcements reaching them, which cut off their supply 
of provisions. They were dying of hunger. After 
every day's fighting Cortes offered amnesty. To do 



198 South American Fights and Fighters 

him justice, he begged that peace might be made and 
the fighting stopped before the city was ruined and 
all its inhabitants were killed. He was no mere mur- 
derer, and such scenes of slaughter horrified him. He 
had a genuine admiration for the enemy too. He 
tried his best to secure peace. His offers were repu- 
diated with contempt. In spite of the fact that they 
were starving, the Aztecs in bravado actually threw 
provisions in the faces of the advancing Spaniards. 
They declared to the Tlascalans that when there was 
nothing left to eat they would eat them, and if there 
was nothing else, they would live on one another until 
they were all dead. They mocked and jeered at the 
tribes tearing down the houses, and with grim humor 
pointed out to them that they would have to rebuild 
the city whoever was successful in the strife, for either 
the Aztecs or the Spaniards would compel them to 
do so. So the fighting went on through the long days. 

XHI. A Day of Desperate Fighting 

On one occasion the soldiers, tiring of this, demanded, 
and Cortes in compliance with their wishes projected, 
an attack which was hoped would capture the narrow 
circle of defense by storm. In his own words the 
story of this day's fighting is now related. It will be 
seen how he narrowly escaped with his life: 

*'The day after mass,* in pursuance of the arrange- 
ments already mentioned, the seven brigantines with 
more than three thousand canoes of our allies left the 
encampment; and I, with twenty-five horses and 

* Archbishop Lorenzana, in his note on this passage, greatly extols the pious fervor 
of Cortes, who, he says, "whether in the field or on the causeway, in the midst of the 
enemy or toiling by night or day," never omitted the celebration of the mass. 



The Greatest Adventure in History 199 

all the other force I had, including the seventy-five men 
from the division at Tacuba, took up the line of march 
and entered the city, where I distributed the troops 
in the following manner: There were three streets 
leading from where we entered to the market-place, 
called by the Indians Tianguizco, and the whole 
square in which it is situated is called Tlaltelulco; one 
of these streets was the principal avenue to the market- 
place, which I ordered your Majesty's treasurer and 
auditor to take, with seventy men and more than fifteen 
or twenty thousand of our allies, and rear-guard con- 
sisting of seven or eight horses. I also directed that, 
whenever a bridge or entrenchment was taken, it 
should be immediately filled up; and for this purpose 
they had twelve men with pick-axes, together with 
many more of our allies who were very useful in this 
kind of work. The two other streets also lead from 
that of Tacuba to the market-place, and are narrower 
and full of causeways, bridges, and water-streets 
(or canals). I ordered two captains,* to take the 
wildest of these with eighty men and more than ten 
thousand of our Indian allies; and at the head of the 
street of Tacuba I placed two heavy cannon with eight 
horse to guard them. With eight other horse and 
about one hundred foot, including twenty-five or 
more bowmen and musketeers, and an innumerable 
host of our allies, I took up the line of march along 
the other narrow street, intending to penetrate as far 
as possible. At its entrance I caused the cavalry to 
halt, and ordered them by no means to pass from 
there, nor to come in my rear, unless I first sent them 
orders to that effect; and then I alighted from my 

* They were Andres de Tapia and George de Alvarado, a brother of the more 
famous Pedro, Tonatiuh. 



200 South American Fights and Fighters 

horse, and we came to an entrenchment that had been 
raised in front of a bridge, which we carried by means 
of a small field-piece, and the archers and musketeers, 
and then proceeded along the causeway, which was 
broken in two or three places, where we encountered 
the enemy. So great was the number of our allies, 
who ascended the terraces and other places, that it 
did not appear possible anything could stop us. When 
we had gained the two bridges, the entrenchments 
and the causeways, our allies followed along the street 
without taking any spoils; and I remained behind 
with about twenty Spanish soldiers on a little island, 
for I saw that some of our Indians were getting into 
trouble with the enemy; and in some instances they 
retreated until they cast themselves into the water, 
and with our aid were enabled to return to the attack. 
Besides this, we were on the watch to prevent the 
enemy from sallying forth out of the cross-streets in 
the rear of the Spaniards, who had advanced on the 
main street and at this time sent us word that they 
had made much progress, and were not far from the 
great square of the market-place; adding, that they 
wished to push forward, for they already heard the 
noise of the combat in which the Alguazil mayor and 
Pedro de Alvarado were engaged on their side of the 
city. I answered them that they must by no means 
go forward without leaving the bridges well filled up, 
so that, if it became necessary to beat a retreat, the 
water might present no obstacle or impediment, for 
in this consisted all the danger. They sent to me a 
message in reply, the amount of which was that the 
whole they had gained was in good condition, and that 
I might go and see if it was not so. But suspecting 
that they had disregarded the orders and left the 



The Greatest Adventure in History 201 

bridges imperfectly filled up, I went to the place and 
found they had passed a breach in the road ten or 
twelve paces wide, and the water that flowed through 
it was ten or twelve feet deep. At the time the troops 
had passed this ditch, thus formed, they had thrown 
in it wood and reed-canes, and as they had crossed a 
few at a time and with great circumspection, the 
wood and canes had not sunk beneath their weight; 
and they were so intoxicated with the pleasure of victory 
that they imagined it to be sufficiently firm. At the 
moment I reached this bridge of troubles, I discovered 
some Spaniards and many of our allies flying back in 
great haste, and the enemy like dogs in pursuit of them; 
and when I saw such a rout, I began to cry out, 'Hold, 
hold!' and on approaching the water, I beheld it full 
of Spaniards and Indians in so dense a mass that it 
seemed as if there was not room for a straw to float. 
The enemy charged on the fugitives so hotly, that in 
the melee they threw themselves into the water after 
them; and soon the enemy's canoes came up by means 
of the canal and took the Spaniards alive. 

As this affair was so sudden, and I saw them killing 
our men, I resolved to remain there and perish in the 
fight. The way in which I and those that were with 
me could do the most good was to give our hands to 
some unfortunate Spaniards who were drowning, and 
draw them out of the water; some came out wounded, 
others half-drowned, and others without arms, whom 
I sent forward. Already such multitudes of the enemy 
pressed upon us, that they had completely surrounded 
me and the twelve or fifteen men who were with me; 
and being deeply interested in endeavoring to save 
those that were sinking, I did not observe nor regard 
the danger to which I was exposed. Several Indians 



202 South American Fights and Fighters 

of the enemy had already advanced to seize me and 
would have borne me off, had it not been for a captain 
of fifty men whom I always had with me, and also a 
youth of his company, to whom next to God, I owed 
my life; and in saving mine, like a valiant man, he 
lost his own.* In the meantime the Spaniards who 
had fled before the enemy, pursued their course along 
the causeway, and as it was small and narrow, and on 
the same level as the water, which had been effected 
by those dogs on purpose to annoy us; and as the road 
was crowded also with our allies who had been routed, 
much delay was thereby occasioned, enabling the 
enemy to come up on both sides of the water, and to 
take and destroy as many as they pleased. The captain 
who was with me, Antonio de Quinones, said to me: 
'Let us leave this place and save your life, since you 
know that without you none of us can escape'; but 
he could not induce me to go. When he saw this, he 
seized me in his arms, that he might force me away; 
and although I would have been better satisfied to die 
than to live, yet by the importunity of this captain 
and of my other companions, we began to retreat, 
making our way with our swords and bucklers against 
the enemy, who pressed hard upon us. At this moment 
there came up a servant of mine and made a little 
room; but presently he received a blow in his throat 
from a lance thrown from a low terrace, that brought 
him to the ground. While I was in the midst of this 
conflict, sustaining the attacks of the enemy, and 
waiting for the crowd on the narrow causeway, to 
reach a place of safety, one of my servants brought 

* Antonio de Quinones was the captain and Francisco de Olea, the youth, according 
to Gomara; who says that the latter cut off at one blow the arms of the men that had 
seized Cortes, and was himself immediately slain by the enemy. Cortes was then 
rescued by Quinones. — Cron. Nuez\ Esp. cap., 138. 



The Greatest Adventure in History 203 

me a horse to ride on. But the mud on the causeway, 
occasioned by the coming and going of persons by 
water, was so deep that no one could stand, especially 
with the jostling of the people against one another in 
their effort to escape. 

"I mounted the horse, but not to fight, as this was 
impossible on horseback; but if it had been practicable 
I should have found on the little island opposite the 
narrow causeway, the eight horsemen I had left there, 
who were unable to do more than effect their return; 
which indeed, was so dangerous that two mares, on 
which two of my servants rode fell from the causeway 
into the water; one of them was killed by the Indians, 
but the other was saved by some of the infantry. 
Another servant of mine Cristobal de Guzman, rode 
a horse that they gave him at the little island to bring 
to me, on which I might make my escape; but the 
enemy killed both him and the horse before they 
reached me; his death spread sorrow through the 
whole camp, and even to this day his loss is still mourned 
by those who knew him. But after all our troubles, 
by the blessing of God, those of us who survived, 
reached the street of Tlacuba, which was very wide; 
and collecting the people, I took my post with nine 
horsemen in the rear-guard. The enemy pressed 
forward with all the pride of victory, as if resolved 
that none should escape with life; but falling back in 
the best manner I could, I sent word to the treasurer 
and auditor to retreat to the public square in good 
order. I also sent similar orders to the two captains 
who had entered the city by the street that led to the 
market-place, both of whom had fought gallantly, 
and carried many entrenchments and bridges, which 
they had caused to be well filled up, on account of 



204 South American Fights and Fighters 

which they were able to retire without loss. Before 
the retreat of the treasurer and auditor some of the 
enemy threw in their way two or three heads of Chris- 
tian men from the upper part of the entrenchment 
where they were fighting, but it was not known whether 
they were persons belonging to the camp of Pedro de 
Alvarado, or our own. All being assembled in the 
square, so large a multitude of the enemy charged 
upon us from all directions that we had as much as 
we could do to keep them back; and that, too, in 
places where, before this defeat, the enemy would 
have fled before three horse and ten foot. Imme- 
diately after, in a lofty tower filled with their idols 
that stood near the square, they burned perfumes 
and fumigated the air with certain gums peculiar to 
this country, that greatly resembled anime, which 
they offer to their idols in token of victory. Although 
we endeavored to throw obstacles in the way of the 
enemy, it was out of our power, as our people were 
hurrying back to the camp. 

"In this defeat thirty-five or forty Spaniards, and 
more than a thousand of our allies, were slain by the 
enemy, besides more than twenty Christians wounded, 
among whom was myself in the leg. We lost the small 
field-piece that we had taken with us, and many cross- 
bows, muskets and other arms. Immediately after 
their victory in order to strike terror into the Alguazil 
mayor and Pedro de Alvarado, the enemy carried 
all the Spaniards, both living and dead, whom they 
had taken, to the Tlalteluico which is the market-place, 
and in some of the lofty towers that are situated there 
they sacrificed them naked, opening their breasts and 
taking out their hearts to offer them to the idols. This 
was seen by the Spaniards of Alvarado's division from 



The Greatest Adventure in History 205 

where they were fighting, and from the whiteness of 
the naked bodies which they saw sacrificed they knew 
them to be Christians; but although they suffered 
great sorrow and dismay at the sight, they effected a 
retreat to their camp after having fought gallantly 
that day, and carried their conquests almost to the 
market-place, which would have been taken if God, 
on account of our sins, had not permitted so great a 
disaster. We returned to our camp, such was the grief 
we felt, somewhat earlier than had been usual on other 
days; and in addition to our other losses, we had been 
told that the brigantines had fallen into the hands of * 
the enemies, who attacked them in their canoes from 
the rear; but it pleased God this was not true, although 
the brigantines and the canoes of our allies had been 
seen in danger enough, and even a brigantine came 
near being lost, the captain and the master of it being 
wounded, the former of whom died eight days 
afterward." 

This modest account of the brave soldier scarcely 
does justice to the situation, his peril and his courage. 
Therefore, I supplement it by Helps' description 
of the same day of desperate fighting: 

"The impatience of the soldiers grew to a great 
height, and was supported in an official quarter — 
by no less a person than Alderete, the King's Treasurer. 
Cortes gave way against his own judgment to their 
importunities. There had all along been a reason 
for his reluctance, which, probably, he did not com- 
municate to his men; namely, that he had not aban- 
doned the hope that the enemy would still come to 
terms. 'Finally,' he says, 'they pressed me so much 
that I gave way.' 

"The attack was to be a general one, in which the 



2o6 South American Fights and Fighters 

divisions of Sandoval and Alvarado were to cooperate; 
but Cortes, with that knowledge of character which 
belonged to him, particularly explained that, though 
his general orders were for them to press into the 
market-place, they were not obliged to gain a single 
difficult pass which laid them open to defeat; 'for,' 
he says, 'I knew, from the men they were, that they 
would advance to whatever spot I told them to gain, 
even if they knew that it would cost them their lives.' 

"On the appointed day, Cortes moved from his 
camp, supported by seven brigantines, and by more 
than three thousand canoes filled with his Indian allies. 
When his soldiers reached the entrance of the city, 
he divided them in the following manner. There 
were three streets which led to the mxarket-place from 
the position which the Spaniards had already gained. 
Along the principal street, the King's Treasurer, with 
seventy Spaniards, and fifteen or twenty thousand 
allies was to make his way. His rear was to be pro- 
tected by a small guard of horsemen. 

"The other streets were smaller, and led from the 
street of Tlacuba to the market-place. Along the 
broader of these two streets, Cortes sent two of his 
principal captains, with eighty Spaniards and the 
thousand Indians; he himself with eight horsemen, 
seventy-five foot-soldiers, twenty-five musketeers, and 
an 'infinite number' of allies, was to enter the narrower 
street. At the entrance to the street of Tlacuba, he 
left two large cannon with eight horsemen to guard 
them, and at the entrance of his own street, he also 
left eight horsemen to protect the rear. 

"The Spaniards and their allies made their entrance 
into the city with even more success and less embarrass- 
ment than on previous occasions. Bridges and barri- 



The Greatest Adventure in History 207 

cades were gained, and the three main bodies of the 
army moved forward into the heart of the city. The 
ever-prudent Cortes did not follow his division, but 
remained with a small body-guard of twenty Spaniards 
in a little island formed by the intersection of certain 
water streets, whence he encouraged the allies, who 
were occasionally beaten back by the Mexicans, and 
where he could protect his own troops against any 
sudden descent of the enemy from certain side streets. 

"He now received a message from these Spanish 
troops who had made a rapid and successful advance 
into the heart of the town, informing him that they 
were not far from the market-place, and that they 
wished to have his permission to push forward, as 
they already heard the noise of the combats which 
the Alguazil mayor and Pedro de Alvarado were 
waging from their respective stations. To this mes- 
sage Cortes returned for answer that on no account 
should they move forward without first filling up the 
apertures thoroughly. They sent an answer back, 
stating that they had made completely passable all 
the ground they had gained; and that he might 
come and see whether it were not so. 

"Cortes, like a- wise commander, not inclined to 
admit anything as a fact upon the statement of others 
which could be verified by personal inspection, took 
them at their, word, and did move on to see what sort 
of a pathway they had made; when, to his dismay, he 
came in sight of a breach in the causeway, of con- 
siderable magnitude, being ten or ■ twelve paces in 
width, and which, far from being filled up with solid 
material, had been passed upon wood and reeds, which 
was entirely insecure in case of retreat. The Spaniards, 
'intoxicated with victory,' as their Commander 



2o8 South American Fights and Fighters 

describes them, had rushed on, imagining that they 
left behind them a sufficient pathway. 

"There was now no time to remedy this lamentable 
error, for when Cortes arrived near this 'bridge of 
affliction,' as he calls it, he saw many of the Spaniards 
and the allies retreating toward it, and when he came 
up close to it, he found the bridge-way broken down, 
and the whole aperture so full of Spaniards and Indians, 
that there was not room for a straw to float upon the 
surface of the water. The peril was so imminent that 
Cortes not only thought that the conquest of Mexico 
was gone, but that the term of his life as well as that 
of his victories had come; and he resolved to die there 
fighting. All that he could do at first was to help his 
men out of the water; and meanwhile, the Mexicans 
charged upon them in such numbers, that he and his 
little party were entirely surrounded. The enemy 
seized upon his person, and would have carried him 
off, but for the resolute bravery of some of his guard, 
one of whom lost his life there in succoring his master. 
The greatest aid, however, that Cortes had at this 
moment of urgent peril, was the cruel superstition of 
the Mexicans, which made them wish to take the 
Malinche alive, and grudged the death of an enemy 
in any other way than that of sacrifice to their detestable 
gods. The captain of the body-guard seized hold of 
Cortes, and insisted upon his retreating, declaring 
that upon his life depended the lives of all of them. 
Cortes, though at that moment he felt that he should 
have delighted more in death than life, gave way to the 
importunity of his captain, and of other Spaniards 
who were near, and commenced a retreat for his life. 
His flight was along a narrow causeway at the same 
level as the water, an additional circumstance of danger, 




' He Defended Himself With His Terrible Spear 



The Greatest Adventure in History 209 

which to use his expression about them, those 'dogs' 
had contrived against the Spaniards. The Mexicans 
in their canoes approached the causeway on both 
sides, and the slaughter they were thus enabled to 
commit, both among the allies and the Spaniards, was 
very great. Meanwhile, two or three horses were sent 
to aid Cortes in his retreat, and a youth upon one of 
them contrived to reach him, although the others were 
lost. At last he and a few of his men succeeded in 
fighting their way to the broad street of Tlacuba, where, 
like a brave captain, instead of continuing his flight, 
he and the few horsemen that were with him turned 
around and formed a rear-guard to protect his retreat- 
ing troops. He also sent immediate orders to the 
King's Treasurer and the other commanders to make 
good their escape; orders the force of which was much 
heightened by the sight of two or three Spanish heads 
which the Mexicans, who were fighting behind a 
barricade, threw amongst the besiegers. 

"We must now see how it fared with the other 
divisions. Alvarado's men had prospered in their 
attack, and were steadily advancing toward the market- 
place, when, all of a sudden, they found themselves 
encountered by an immense body of Mexican troops, 
splendidly accoutred, who threw before them five heads 
of Spaniards and kept shouting out, 'Thus we will 
slay you, as we have slain Malinche and Sandoval, 
whose heads these are.' With these words they 
commenced an attack of such fury, and came so close 
to hand with the Spaniards, that they could not use 
their cross-bows, their muskets, or even their swords. 
One thing, however, was in their favor. The diffi- 
culty of their retreat was always greatly enhanced by 
the number of their allies; but on this occasion, the 



2IO South American Fights and Fighters 

Tlascalans no sooner saw the bleeding heads and 
heard the menacing words of the Mexicans, than they 
cleared themselves off the causeway with all possible 
speed. 

"The Spaniards, therefore, were able to retreat in 
good order; and their dismay did not take the form 
of panic, even when they heard, from tlie summit of 
the Temple, the tones of that awful drum, made from 
the skin of serpents, which gave forth the most melan- 
choly sound imaginable, and which was audible at two 
or three leagues' distance. This was the sio-nal of 
sacrifice, and at that moment ten human hearts, the 
hearts of their companions, were being offered up to 
the Mexican deities. 

'* A more dangerous, though not more dreadful sound 
was now to be heard. This was the blast ot a horn 
sounded by no less a personage than the Mexican 
King — which signified that his captains were to 
succeed or die. The mad fury with which the Mexi- 
cans now rushed upon the Spaniards was an *awtul 
thing' to see; and the historian, who was present at 
the scene, writing in his old age, exclaims that, though 
he cannot describe it, yet, when he comes to think of 
it, it is as if it were 'visibly' before him. so deep was 
the impression it had made upon his mind. 

" But the Spaniards were not raw troops; and terror 
however great, was not able to overcome their sense 
of discipline and their duty to each other as comrades. 
It was in vain that the Mexicans rushed upon them 
*as a conquered thing'; they reached their station, 
served their cannon steadily — although they had to 
renew their artillerv^-men — and maintained their 
ground. 

"The appalling stratagem adopted by the Mexicans 



The Greatest Adventure in History 211 

— of throwing down before one division of the Spanish 
army some of the heads of the prisoners they had 
taken from another division, and shouting that these 
were the heads of the principal commanders — was 
pursued with great success. They were thus enabled 
to discourage Sandoval, and to cause him to retreat 
with loss toward his quarters. They even tried with 
success the same stratagem upon Cortes, throwing 
before his camp, to which he had at last retreated, 
certain bleeding heads, which they said, were those 
of 'Tonatiuh' (Alvarado), Sandoval, and the other 
teules. Then it was that Cortes felt more dismay 
than ever, 'though,' says the honest chronicler, who 
did not like the man, no matter how much he admired 
the soldier, 'not in such a manner that those who were 
with him should perceive in it much weakness.' 

"After Sandoval had made good his retreat, he set 
off, accompanied by a few horsemen, for the camp of 
Cortes, and had an interview with him, of which the 
following account is given: 'O Sefior Captain! what 
is this?' exclaimed Sandoval; 'are these the great 
counsels, and artifices of war which you have always 
been wont to show us } How has this disaster hap- 
pened ?' Cortes replied, 'O Don Sandoval! my sins 
have permitted this; but I am not so culpable in the 
business as they may make out, for it is the fault of the 
Treasurer, Juan de Alderete, whom I charged to fill 
up that difficult pass where they routed us; but he 
did not do so, for he is not accustomed to wars, nor to 
be commanded by superior officers.' At this point 
of the conference, the Treasurer himself, who had 
approached the captains in order to learn Sandoval's 
news, exclaimed that it was Cortes himself who was 
to blame; that he had encouraged his men to go for- 



212 South American Fights and Fighters 

ward; that he had not charged them to fill up the 
bridges and bad passes — if he had done so, he (the 
Treasurer) and his company would have done it; 
and, moreover, that Cortes had not cleared the cause- 
way in time of his Indian allies. Thus they argued and 
disputed with one another; for hardly any one is 
generous, in defeat, to those with whom he has acted. 
Indeed, a generosity of this kind, which will not allow 
a man to comment severely upon the errors of his 
comrades in misfortune, is so rare a virtue, that it 
scarcely seems to belong to this planet. 

"There was little time, however, for altercation, 
and Cortes was not the man to indulge in more of 
that luxury for the unfortunate than human nature 
demanded. He had received no tidings of what had 
befallen the Camp of Tlacuba, and thither he 
despatched Sandoval, embracing him and saying, 
'Look you, since you see that I cannot go to all parts, 
I commend these labors to you, for, as you perceive, 
I am wounded and lame. I implore you, take charge 
of these three camps. I well know that Pedro de 
Alvarado and his soldiers will have behaved them- 
selves as cavaliers, but I fear lest the great force of 
those dogs should have routed them.' 

"The scene now changes to the ground near Alva- 
rado's camp. Sandoval succeeded in making his way 
there, and arrived about the hour of Vespers. He 
found the men of that division in the act of repelling 
a most vigorous attack on the part of the Mexicans, 
who had hoped that night to penetrate into the camp 
and carry off all the Spaniards for sacrifice. The 
enemy were better armed than usual, some of them 
using the weapons which they had taken from the 
soldiers of Cortez. At last, after a severe conflict, 



The Greatest Adventure in History 213 

in which Sandoval himself was wounded, and in which 
the cannon shots did not suffice to break the serried 
ranks of the Mexicans, the Spaniards gained their 
quarters, and, being under shelter, had some respite 
from the fury of the Mexican attack. 

"There, Sandoval, Pedro de Alvarado, and the 
other principal captains, were standing together and 
relating what had occurred to each of them, when, 
suddenly, the sound of the sacrifical drum was heard 
again, accompanied by other musical instruments 
of a similar dolorous character. From the Camp of 
Tlacuba the great Temple was perfectly visible, and 
the Spaniards looked up at it for the interpretation 
of these melancholy tones; they saw their companions 
driven by blows and bufferings up to the place of 
sacrifice. The white-skinned Christians were easily 
to be distinguished amidst the dusky groups that 
surrounded them. When the unhappy men about 
to be sacrificed had reached the lofty level space on 
which these abominations were wont to be committed, 
it was discerned by their friends and late companions 
that plumes of feathers were put upon the heads of 
many of them, and that men, whose movements in 
the distance appeared like those of winnowers, made 
the captive dance before the image of Huitzilopochtli. 
When the dance was concluded, the victims were 
placed upon the sacrifical stones; their hearts were 
taken out and offered to the idols; and their bodies 
hurled down the steps of the temple. At the bottom 
of the steps stood 'other butchers' who cut off the 
arms and legs of the victims, intending to eat these 
portions of their enemy. The skin of the face with the 
beard was preserved. The rest of the body was thrown 
to the lions, tigers, and serpents. 'Let the curious 



214 South American Fights and Fighters 

reader consider,' says the chronicler, Svhat pity we 
must have had for these, our companions, and how 
we said to one another. *Oh, thanks be to God, that 
they did not carry me off to-day to sacrifice me.' And 
certainly no army ever looked on a more deplorable 
sight. 

"There was no time, however, for such contem- 
plation: for, at that instant, numerous bands of war- 
riors attacked the Spaniards on all sides, and fully 
occupied their attention in the preservation of their 
own lives. 

" Modern warfare has lost one great element of the 
picturesque in narrative, namely, in there being no 
interchange, now, of verbal threats and menaces 
between the contending parties; but in those days it 
was otherwise, and the Mexicans were able to indulge 
in the most fierce and malignant language. ' Look,* 
they said, ' that is the way in which all of you have to 
die, for our Gods have promised this to us many times.* 
To the Tlascalans their lang-uaee was more insulting 
and much more minutely descriptive. Throwing to 
them the roasted flesh of their companions and of the 
Spanish soldiers, they shouted, 'Eat of the flesh of these 
teuleSy and of your brethren, for we are quite satiated 
with it; and, look you, for the houses you have pulled 
down, we shall have to make you build in their place 
much better ones with stone and plates of metal, like- 
wise with hewn stone and lime; and the houses will be 
painted. Wherefore continue to assist these teules 
all of whom you will see sacrificed.' 

"The Mexicans, however, did not succeed in carry- 
ing off any more Spaniards for sacrifice that night. 
The Spanish camp had some few hours of repose, and 
some time to reckon up their losses, which were very 



The Greatest Adventure in History 215 

considerable. They lost upward of sixty of their own 
men, six horses, two cannon, and a great number of 
their ' Indian allies. Moreover the brigantines had 
not fared much better on this disastrous day than the 
land forces. But the indirect consequences of this 
defeat were still more injurious than the actual losses. 
The allies from the neighboring cities on the lake 
deserted the Spaniards, nearly to a man. The Mexi- 
cans regained and strengthened most of their positions; 
and the greatest part of the work of the besiegers 
seemed as if it would have to be done over again. 
Even the Tlascalans, hitherto so faithful, despaired 
of the fortunes of their allies, and could not but believe, 
with renewed terror, in the potency of the Mexican 
deities, kindred to, if not identical with, their own." 

XIV. The Last Mexican 

The courage of the Aztecs was beyond all question. 
Their heroism awakens a thrill of admiration, although 
we are fully aware of their fearful and ferocious and 
degrading religious rites. Again and again the heart- 
sick Spaniards saw lifted up before the hideous gods 
on the temple pyramids, the white, naked bodies of 
their unfortunate comrades who had been captured 
for that awful sacrifice. Both parties were wrought 
up to a pitch of furious rage. 

No valor, no heroism, no courage, no devotion 
could prevail against thirst, hunger, smallpox, pesti- 
lence, the fever of besieged towns, with the streets 
filled with unburied dead. On August 13, 1521, the 
city fell. There was no formal surrender, the last 
defender had been killed. The old, weak and feeble 
were left. Only a small portion of the city, the cheap- 



2i6 South American Fights and Fighters 

est and poorest part, was left standing. Into this 
ghastly street rode the Spaniards. 

Where was Guatemoc : A wretched, haggard, 
worn, starved figure, having done all that humanity 
could do, and apparently more, in the defence of his 
land, he had striven to escape in a canoe on the lake. 
One oi the brigantines overhauled him. The com- 
mander was about to make way with the httle party 
when some one informed him that the principal captive 
was no less than Guatemotzin. The unfortunate 
young emperor, after vainlv trving to persuade Garcia 
Holguin to kill him then and there, demanded to be 
led to Cortes. He found that great captain on one 
of the house-tops, watching the slaughter of the men 
and women and children bA' the furious Tlascalans 
who were at last feeding fat their revenge by indis- 
criminate massacre. 

"Deal with me as vou please," said the broken- 
hearted Mexican, as he touched the dagger which 
huui; bv Cortes's side. '* Kill me at once." he implored. 

He had no wish to surWve the downfall of his empire. 
the devastation of his citv, and the annihilation of his 
people. Cortes spared his lite and at first treated him 
o;enerouslv. He afterward marred his reputation bv 
yielding him and the Cacique of Tlacuba to torture 
at the urgent and insistent demand of the soldien'. 
There was no treasure found in the city. It had been 
spirited away or else buried forever beneath the ruins 
of the town.* The soldiers, their greed for treasure 
excited, insisted upon the torture of the noble Guatemoc 
and his comrade. The Cacique ot Tlacuba. unable 
through weakness to sustain the torture, which con- 
sisted of burning the soles of their feet ^^■ith boihng 

* I wonder where it is! There mav be a cre^t amount of it somewhere. 



The Greatest Adventure in History 217 

oil, broke into lamenting reproaches, some of them 
addressed to the emperor. 

"And am I taking pleasure in my bath, do you 
think?" proudly replied the young chief, while the 
soles of his feet were being immersed in the same dread- 
ful cauldron. 

He was lame and more or less helpless for the rest 
of his life. I have no doubt that he often wished that 
he had been cut down in the final moment of his 
defeat. He dragged on a miserable existence until 
Cortes put him to death by hanging several years 
after the conquest while in Honduras on an expedition. 
The charge against him, so Cortes writes to Charles V., 
was conspiracy. The evidence was flimsy enough, 
yet it is probable that Cortes believed it. The expe- 
dition was far from Mexico, surrounded by hostile 
nations, and Cortes, as usual, was in great danger. 
Helps thus describes the bitter end of the noble young 
emperor: 

"When led to execution, the King of Mexico 
exclaimed, *0 Malinche, I have long known the false- 
ness of your words, and have foreseen that you would 
give me that death which, alas! I did not give myself, 
when I surrendered to you in my city of Mexico. 
Wherefore do you slay me without justice ^ May 
God demand it of you!' 

"The King of the Tlacuba said that he looked upon 
his death as welcome, since he was able to die with 
his Lord, the King of Mexico. After confession and 
absolution, the two kings were hanged upon a ceyba 
tree in Izzancanac, in the province of Acalan, on one 
of the carnival days before Shrovetide, in the year 
1525. Thus ended the great Mexican dynasty — itself 
a thing compacted by so much blood and toil and 



2i8 South American Fights and Fighters 

suflFering of countless human beings. The days of 
deposed monarchs — victims ahke to the zeal of their 
friends and the suspicions of their captors — are 
mostly very brief; and perhaps it is surprising that 
the King of Mexico should have survived as long as 
four years the conquest of his capital, and have been 
treated during the greater part of that time with favor 
and honor. 

"Some v^riters have supposed that Cortes w^as weary 
of his captives, and wished to destroy them, and that 
the charge of conspiracy was fictitious. Such assertions 
betray a total ignorance of the character of this great 
Spaniard. Astute men seldom condescend to lying. 
Now, Cortes was not only very astute, but, according 
to his notions, highly honorable. A genuine hidalgo, 
and a thoroughly loyal man, he would as soon have 
thought of committing a small theft as of uttering a 
falsehood in a despatch addressed to his sovereign." 

XV. The End of Cortes 

Cortes received a full reward for his conquest, at 
least for a time. He was received in high favor by 
Charles V., whom he visited in Spain, and who made 
him Marques of the Valley of Mexico. 

"There is on record a single sentence of the Empe- 
ror's that must have been addressed to Cortes in some 
private interview, which shows the gracious esteem 
in which he was held by his sovereign. Borrowing 
a metaphor from the archery-ground, and gracefully, 
as it seems, alluding to a former misappreciation of 
the services of Cortes, the Emperor said that he wished 
to deal with him as those who contend with the cross- 
bow, whose first shots go wide of the mark, and then 



The Greatest Adventure in History 219 

they improve and improve, until they hit the centre 
of the white. So, continued His Majesty, he wished 
to go on until he had shot into the white of what should 
be done to reward the Marquis' deserts; and mean- 
while nothing was to be taken from him which he 
then held. 

"It was very pleasing to find that Cortes did not 
forget his old friends the Tlascalans, but dwelt on their 
services, and procured from the Emperor an order 
that they should not be given encomienda to His 
Majesty, or to any other person." 

The only reward the Tlascalans got from the Emperor 
was that, when the other Mexicans were made slaves, 
they were left at least nominally free, but their republic 
soon fell into decay and the city in which they had so 
proudly maintained themselves in their independence, 
became a desolate ruin. A dirty and squalid village 
to-day marks the place. 

Marina, who had served the Spaniards for the love 
of the great captain with such fidelity and such success, 
was cast off by Cortes and compelled to marry one 
of his officers, whom she scarcely knew. This crushed 
her spirit. She abandoned her husband and sank 
into wretched and miserable obscurity, and died at 
an early age of a broken heart. 

Cortes conducted other expeditions, most of them 
without any great success, as that to Honduras, where 
he hanged the last of the Aztec Kings. Jealousy arose 
in the great state which he had founded, and he fell 
out of favor with the Emperor, who refused to see 
him, and he was received with cold and bitter 
reproaches by his wife, whom he married after the 
death of his former wife, and who had never proved 
a comfort to him. An admirable marriage which 



220 South American Fights and Fighters 

he had arranged for his daughter with one of the 
highest nobiUty of Spain failed, his last days were 
sad and miserable, and he died old, lonely and broken- 
hearted. I again quote Helps concerning these closing 
scenes: 

"The poets say, 'Care sits behind a man and fol- 
lows him wherever he goes.' So does ill-success; 
and henceforward the life of Cortes was almost invari- 
ably unsuccessful. There is an anecdote told of him 
(resting upon no higher authority than that of Voltaire) 
which, although evidently untrue, tells in a mythical 
way the reception which Cortes met at the Spanish 
Court; and his feelings as regards that reception. 

"One day he broke through the crowd which sur- 
rounded the carriage of the Emperor and jumped 
on the step. 

"'Who are you.?' asked the Emperor in astonish- 
ment. 

"'I am the man,' replied Cortes fiercely, 'who has 
given you more provinces than your ancestor^ have 
left you cities.' 

"Quitting fiction, however, and returning to fact, 
there is a letter extant addressed by Cortes to the 
Emperor, Charles V., which conveys more forcibly 
than even a large extent of narrative could do, the 
troubles, vexations, and disappointments which Cortes 
had to endure at this latter period of his life, and his 
feelings with regard to them. It is one of the most 
touching letters ever written by a subject to a sovereign. 
I will here translate some of it, greatly condensing 
those parts of the letter which relate to the business 
in hand, and which would be as wearisome to the 
reader to read, as they were to the writer to write; 
for doubtless, it was not the first time, by many times. 



The Greatest Adventure in History 221 

that Cortes had set down the same grievance in writing. 
The letter bears date, Valladolid, the 3rd of Feb- 
ruary, 1544. It begins thus: — 

'"Sacred Cesarian CathoHc Majesty: — I thought 
that having labored in my youth, it would so profit 
me that in my old age I might have ease and rest; 
and now it is forty years that I have been occupied 
in not sleeping, in eating ill, and sometimes eating 
neither well nor ill, in bearing armor, in placing my 
person in danger, in spending my estates and my hfe, 
all in the service of God, bringing sheep into his sheep- 
fold — which were very remote from our hemisphere, 
unknown, and whose names are not written in our 
writings — also increasing and making broad the name 
and patrimony of my King — gaining for him, and 
bringing under his yoke and Royal sceptre, many 
and very great kingdoms and many barbarous nations, 
all won by my own person, and at my own expense; 
without being assisted in anything, on the contrary, 
being much hindered by many jealous and evil and 
envious persons who, like leeches, have been filled to 
bursting with my blood.' 

"He then, proceeds to say that for the part which 
God has had in his labors and watchings he is suf- 
ficiently paid, because it was His work; and it was 
not without a reason that Providence was pleased 
that so great a work should be accomplished by so 
weak a medium, in order that it might be seen that 
to God alone the good work must be attributed. 

" Cortes then says that for what he has done for the 
King, he has always been satisfied with the remunera- 
tion he has received. The King has been grateful 
to him, has honored him, and has rewarded him, 
and he adds that His Majesty knows that the rewards 



222 South American Fights and Fighters 

and honors which the Emperor offered were, in the 
opinion of Cortes, so tar greater than his merits, that 
he refused to receive them. 

"What, however. His JNIajestv did mean him to 
receive, he has not received. That which His Majesty 
has given has been so completely without fruit, that 
it would have been better for Cortes not to have had 
it, but that he should have taken care of his own 
estate, and not spent the fruit of that in defending 
himself against 'the Fiscal of Your Majesty, which 
defence has been, and is, a more difficult undertaking: 
than to ^^^n the land of the enemy.' 

"He then implores His Majesty that he vnW be 
pleased to render clear the good will which he had 
shoNvn to reward him. ' I see myself,' he exclaims, 
'old, poor and indebted. Not only have I no repose 
in my old age, but I can foresee labor and trouble 
until my death.' And he adds, 'Please God that the 
mischief may not go beyond death; but may finish 
with the body, and not exist forever, since whosoever 
has such toil in defending his bodily estate, cannot 
avoid injuring his soul.' 

"All that he asks is that his appeal may be heard; 
that members of the King's Council be added to. the 
Council of the Indies; and that the cause may be 
determined, and judgment given, without further 
delay. ' For, otherv^-ise, I must leave it and loose it, 
and must return to my home, as I am no longer of 
the age to go about to hostelries; and should withdraw 
myself to make my account clear with God, since 
it is a large one that I have, and little lite is left to me 
to discharge my conscience; and it ^^411 be better for 
me to lose my estate than my soul.' He concludes 
by saying that 'he is of Your Catholic Majesty the 



The Greatest Adventure in History 223 

very humble servant and vassal, who kisses your very 
royal feet and hands — the Marquis del Valle.' 

"In addition to these vexations he had a domestic 
trouble which doubtless caused him much mortification. 
His daughter, Donna Maria, was engaged to one of 
the greatest nobles in Spain; but ultimately the young 
man refused to fulfil the engagement. Some say 
that this caused the death of Cortes. But this is not 
so. He was broken, alike in health and in spirits, 
by reason of the many reverses he had met with in these 
his latter days. 

"We live, to a great measure, upon success; and 
there is no knowing the agony that an unvarying course 
of ill-success causes to a sanguine and powerful mind 
which feels that, if only such and such small obstacles 
were removed out of its way, it could again shine forth 
with all its pristine force and brightness. 

"To meet this rejected daughter, who was coming 
from New Spain, Cortes went to Seville. There he 
was taken ill, and, being molested by the importunity 
of many persons who came to see him on business, 
he retired to a small village, about half a league from 
Seville, called Castillaje de la Cuesta. He also sought 
retirement for the purpose, as Bernal Diaz says, of 
making his will and preparing his soul for death. 
'And when he had settled his worldly affairs, our 
Lord Jesus Christ was pleased to take him from his 
troublesome world.' He died on the 2nd of December, 
1547, being then sixty-two years of age." 

His bones were interred in Mexico. During the 
civil wars of the last century, his bones were taken 
away and hidden. It is reported that. only the other 
day the place of his sepulchre had been discovered. 
Some monument to his memory should be erected to 



224 South American Fights and Fighters 

match the statue of Guatemoc, which is one of the 
principal adornments of Mexico. 

As is well said by William H. Johnson: '*To the 
honor of Spain be it said, her rule in Mexico was 
firm and kind. The Indians became thoroughly 
incorporated into the national life, enjoying the oppor- 
tunities of advancement as Spaniards. In the present 
Republic of IVIexico the greatest name has been that 
of Benito Juarez, the president who upheld the national 
cause during the French-Austrian usurpation. He 
was of pure Aztec blood. Porfirio Diaz, the gallant 
soldier who led the army of the Republic during the 
same trying period, and who, as its president, is a 
model of a strong and wise ruler, is also, in part, a 
descendant of the ancient race." 

With the following tributes to the great captain 
the story of his amazing adventures is ended. Says 
Helps: 

** He was the mighty conqueror of one of the most 
compact and well-ordered barbaric nations of the w^orld 
— a conqueror who, with a few hundreds of his fellow- 
countrymen, not all of them his partisans, overcame 
hundreds of thousands of fanatic and resolute men 
fighting against him with immense resources, and 
with a resolution nearly equal to his own. Let us give 
him the benefit of his sincere belief in Christianity, 
and his determination to substitute that beneficent 
religion for the hideous and cruel superstition of 
the people he was resolved to conquer. And let us 
echo the wish of that good common soldier, Bernal 
Diaz, who, though having his grievances against Cortes, 
as all of the other Conquistadores thought they had, 
could yet, after watching every turn in the fortunes 
of the great Marquis, and knowing almost every sin 



The Greatest Adventure in History 225 

that he had committed, write most tenderly of the 
great captain whose plume he had so often followed 
to victory. 

"After saying that, subsequently to the conquest 
of Mexico, Cortes had not had good fortune either 
in his Californian or his Honduras expedition, or 
indeed in anything else he had undertaken, Bernal 
Diaz adds, ' Perhaps it was that he might have felicity 
in heaven. And I believe it was so, for he was an 
honorable cavalier, and a devoted worshipper of the 
Virgin, the Apostle St. Peter and other Saints. May 
God pardon his sins, and mine too, and give me a 
righteous ending, which things are of more concern 
than the conquests and victories that we had over the 
Indians.'" 

Writes MacNutt: 

"His sagacity, his foresight, and his moderation 
have caused critical historians to rank him higher as 
a statesman than as a soldier. In virtue of his pre- 
eminent qualities both as a statesman and as a general, 
as well as because of the enduring importance of his 
conquest, Fernando Cortes occupies an uncontested 
place amongst the heroes of the nations." 

However we may sympathize with the Aztecs, we 
cannot escape from the fact that it was much better 
that there should be a Spanish rule instead of an 
Aztec rule in Mexico, and that the civilization of the 
former should supplant the so-called civilization of 
the latter. That does not prevent us from wishing 
that the supersession might not have been so harsh 
and ruthless, but in view of the times, and the men, 
both Aztecs and Christians, it was not to be expected. 

Personally, I love the memory of Guatemoc for his 
heroism and his devotion. I also have a warm feeling 



226 South American Fights and Fighters 

for Cortes. It is true, as has been stated, that he was 
a child of his age, hut he was the best child of his age. 
and it was not his tault aUogether that in some respects 
it was the worst age. The Spanish rule in Mexico 
was better than the Spanish rule in Peru, and Cortes 
and his successors, bv the side of Pizarro and his suc- 
cessors, were almost angels of light. 

I close with these noble words of John Fiske in his 
great and highly valued Dtscoverv of i^ortJi ^{trierica: 

"A great deal of sentimental ink has been shed over 
the wickedness oi^ the Spaniards in crossing the ocean 
and attacking people who had never done them any 
harm, overturning and obliterating a 'splendid civil- 
ization,' and more to the same effect. It is undeniable 
that unprovoked aggression is an extremely hatehil 
thing, and many of the circumstances attendant upon 
the Spanish conquest in America were not only heinous 
in their atrocity, but were emphatically condemned, 
as we shall presently see, by the best moral standards 
of the sixteenth centur^■. Yet if we are to be guided 
by strict logic, it would be dithcult to condemn the 
Spaniards for the mere act of conquering Mexico 
^^'ithout inyolving in the same condemnation our own 
toretathers who crossed the ocean and overran the terri- 
tory of the United States with small regard for the pro- 
prietary rights of Algonquins, or Iroquois, or red men 
ot' any sort. Our forefathers, if called upon to justify 
themselves, would have replied that they were founding 
Christian states and diffusing the blessings of a higher 
civilization; and such, in spite oi' much alloy in the 
motives and imperfection in the performance, was 
certainly the case. Now if we would not lose or 
distort the historical perspective, we must bear in 
mind that the Spanish conquerors would have returned 



The Greatest Adventure in History 227 

exactly the same answer. If Cortes were to return 
to the world and pick up some history book in which 
he is described as a mere picturesque adventurer, he 
would feel himself very unjustly treated. He would 
say that he had higher aims than those of a mere fighter 
and gold-hunter; and so doubtless he had. In the 
complex tangle of motives that actuated the mediaeval 
Spaniard — and in his peninsula we may apply the 
term mediaeval to later dates than would be proper 
in France or Italy — the desire of extending the domin- 
ion of the Church was a very real and powerful incentive 
to action. The strength of the missionary and crusad- 
ing spirit in Cortes is seen in the fact that where it was 
concerned, and there only, was he liable to let zeal 
overcome prudence. 

''There can be no doubt that, after making all allow- 
ances, the Spaniards did introduce a better state of 
society into Mexico than they found there. It was 
high time that an end should be put to those hecatombs 
of human victims, slashed, torn open and devoured 
on all the little occasions of life. It sounds quite 
pithy to say that the Inquisition, as conducted in 
Mexico, was as great an evil as the human sacrifices 
and the cannibalism; but it is not true. Compared 
with the ferocious barbarism of ancient Mexico, the 
contemporary Spanish modes of life were mild, and 
this, I think, helps further to explain the ease with 
which the country was conquered. In a certain sense 
the prophecy of Quetzalcoatl was fulfilled and the 
coming of the Spaniards did mean the final dethrone- 
ment of the ravening Tezcatlipoca. The work of the 
noble Franciscan and Dominican monks who followed 
closely upon Cortes, and devoted their hves to the 
spiritual welfare of the Mexicans, is a more attractive 



228 South American Fights and Fighters 

subject than any picture of military conquest. To 
this point I shall return hereafter, when we come to 
consider the sublime character of Las Casas. For 
the present we may conclude in the spirit of one of 
the noble Spanish historians, Pedro de Cieza de Leon, 
and praise God, that the idols are cast down." 



Part II 
OTHER TALES OF ADVENTURE 

I 

The Yarn of the Essex^ Whaler 



The Yarn of the Essex, Whaler 

34MONG marine disasters there is none more 
Zjk extraordinary in character or more appalling 
JL Ml. in consequence, than the loss of the whale- 
ship Essex. 

The Essex was a well-found whaler of two hundred 
and thirty-eight tons. James Pollard was her captain, 
with Owen Chase and Matthew Joy as mates. Six 
of her complement of twenty were Negroes. Thor- 
oughly overhauled and provisioned for two and one- 
half years, on the 17th of August, 18 19, she took her 
departure from Nantucket. On the 17th of January, 
1820, she reached St. Mary's Island, off the coast of 
Chili, near Conception, a noted whaling ground. 

They cruised off these coasts for some time, being 
lucky enough to take several large whales, and finally, 
the season being over, having about one thousand 
barrels of oil in the hold, they struck boldly westward. 
On the 1 6th of November, being a few minutes south 
of the Hne in Long. 118 degrees W., a school of sperm 
whales was sighted, and three boats were lowered in 
chase. 

Chase, the mate — the first mate is always the mate 
par excellence — soon got fast to a huge bull-whale 
who, when he felt the deadly harpoon in his vitals, 
swiftly turned and struck the whale-boat a terrific 
blow with his tail, smashing it into kindling wood and 
hurHng the men in every direction. After that splen- 

231 



232 Other Tales of Adventure 

did exhibition of power, he got away scot-free save for 
the rankhng iron and the danghng line which he took 
with him. The boat's crew were picked up, no one 
being much the worse for the encounter, strange to say, 
and were brought back to the ship by the other boats. 

On the 20th of November, being then just about 
40 minutes south of the equator, and in Long. 119 
degrees W., at eight o'clock in the morning the look- 
out at the masthead shouted the welcome signal: 
"There she blows!" 

It was evident that they were in the presence of a 
large school. The ship was headed toward them, and 
when within half a mile the mainyard was backed, and 
. three boats, under the charge of the captain and the 
first and second mates, respectively, were lowered. 
Their only other boat was a spare one, lashed amid- 
ships on chocks. 

Arriving at the spot where they had been sighted 
at the ship, the men discovered that the whales had 
sounded and vanished. The boats, thereupon, sepa- 
rated widely, and the men lay on their oars and waited. 
Presently a great bull rose lazily, spouting in front of the 
mate's boat, and lay idly wallowing in the tumbling 
sea. Approaching cautiously, the harpooneer drove 
in the terrible weapon. 

In his agony, the great cetacean, instead of sound- 
ing, threw himself blindly toward the boat. So close 
were they, and so unexpected was the whale's movement 
in spite of his vast bulk, that, although the order, 
"Stern all!" had been promptly given, they were 
unable to win clear of him. The tip of his massive 
tail, as he thrashed about in his rage, struck the side 
of the light, clinker-built boat and smashed a hole in it. 
Then the whale started to run, towing the boat, which 



The Yarn of the Essex, Whaler 233 

immediately began to fill with water under the terrible 
drag to which it was subjected. There was nothing 
to do but cut the line. Two or three jackets were 
stuffed into the aperture, and while some bailed, the 
others rowed back to the ship. The captain's and 
second mate's boats, meanwhile, were seeking the 
school, which had risen and was swimming away from 
the ship. 

As soon as the wrecked boat was run up to the 
davits, the mate swung the mainyard and got under 
way, following the other boats. He first determined 
to break out the spare boat, but after investigating 
the damaged boat, he concluded that he could save time 
by nailing a patch of canvas over the broken place, 
which would serve temporarily to keep out the water, 
in case they went in search of another whale in her. 
While he was about this, an immense sperm-whale, 
about eighty-five feet long, "breached" — that is, 
coming from a great depth, he shot out of the water 
his whole length and then fell back with a tremendous 
splash — about fifty fathoms from the ship. After 
he fell back, he spouted three or four times, sounded, 
and once more appeared, this time about a ship's 
length off the weather bow of the Essex. Evidently, 
it was the whale they had just struck. He was angry, 
and he meant business, for as soon as he came to the 
surface he started for the ship. 

Under the light air the vessel was making about 
three knots. The whale was going at the same speed. 
The mate saw at once that if he did not change his 
course, the whale would strike his ship. Dropping 
the hammer, he shouted to the boy at the helm to put 
it hard up, and himself sprang across the deck to 
reinforce his order. The unwieldy ship paid off slowly, 



234 Other Tales of Adventure 

and before her head had been fairly turned to leeward 
the whale dehberately rammed her right under the fore- 
chains. 

The concussion was terrible. The ship came to a 
dead stop, as if she had run upon a rock, while the 
whale bumped along under the keel. Some of those 
aboard were thro^^^l to the deck. The masts quivered 
and buckled under the shock, but fortunately nothing 
was carried away. The onset was so unexpected that 
the men were dazed for a moment. WTien the mate 
recovered his ^^^ts, he immediately sounded the well, 
and found that the ship was leaking badly. He then 
ordered the men to the pumps, and set signals for the 
recall of the boats, each of which had got fast to a 
whale. 

In spite of all they could do, the ship began setthng 
rapidly by the head. She was badly stove in, and 
making water fast. While some of the men toiled at 
the pumps, others cleared away the extra boat. There 
was no longer time to repair the other. At this junc- 
ture one of the men discovered the same whale 
about two hundred and fifty fathoms to leeward. 
He was in a fit of convulsive rage terrible to look upon; 
leaping, turning, writhing, threshing about in the 
water, beating it ^^^th his mighty tail and great flukes, 
thundering; upon it ^^4th all his force, and all the while 
opening and shutting his enormous jaws, "smiting 
them together," in the words of the mate, as if dis- 
tracted %\4th wrath and fury. 

There was no time to watch the whale in the exi- 
gency of their peril, and obserWng him start out with 
great velocity to cross the bows of the ship to leeward, 
the men turned their attendon to the more serious duty 
at the pumps and the boat. But a few moments had 




" The Ship Came to a Dead Stop 



The Yarn of the Essex, Whaler 235 

elapsed, when another man forward observed the 
whale again. 

"Here he Is!" he shouted. "He's making for us 
again." 

The great cachalot was now directly ahead, about 
two hundred fathoms away, and coming down upon 
them with twice his ordinary speed. The surf flew 
in all directions about him. "His course was marked 
by a white foam a' rod in width which he made with 
the continual thrashing of this tail." His huge head, 
boneless but almost as solid and as hard as the inside 
of a horse's hoof, most admirably designed for a bat- 
tering-ram, was almost half out of the water. The 
mate made one desperate attempt to get out of his way. 
Again the helm was put up and the men ran to the 
braces, but the water-laden ship, already well down 
by the head, and more sluggish than ever, had fallen 
off only one point when the whale leaped upon her with 
demoniac energy, and — so it appeared to the seamen 
— rammed her with maleficent passion. 

This time he struck the ship just under the weather 
cathead. He was going not less than six knots an hour 
to the ship's three, and the force of the blow com- 
plettely stove in the bows of the Essex. Those on 
board could feel the huge bulk scraping along beneath 
the keel a second time, and then, having done all the 
damage he could, he went hurtling off to windward. 
He had exacted a complete revenge for their attack 
upon him. 

Working with the energy of despair, for the ship 
seemed literally sinking under their feet, the men suc- 
ceeded in clearing away the spare boat and launching 
it. The steward saved two quadrants, two Bowditch's 
"Practical Navigators," the captain's chest and that 



236 Other Tales of Adventure 

of the first mate, with two compasses which the mate 
had snatched from the binnacle. They shoved off, 
but had scarcely made two lengths from the ship when 
she fell over to windward and settled low in the water 
on her beam-ends, a total wreck. 

The captain and second mate, seeing the signal for 
the recall of the boats flying, had cut loose from their 
whales and were rowing toward the ship. They 
knew something had happened, but what it was, they 
could not tell. The captain's boat was the first to 
reach the mate's. He stopped close by, so completely 
overpowered that for a space he could not utter a 
syllable. 

"My God! Mr. Chase," he gasped out at last; 
"what is the matter.?" 

"We have been stove in by a whale, sir," said the 
mate, telling the whole appalling story. 

By the captain's direction, the boats rowed to the 
sinking ship, and with their hatchets the men managed 
to cut away the masts, whereupon she rose two-thirds 
of the way to an even keel. They scuttled the deck — 
chopped holes through her, that is — and succeeded 
in coming at some six hundred pounds of unspoiled 
hard bread, which they divided among the three boats, 
and sufficient fresh water to give each boat sixty-five 
gallons in small breakers — being all they dared to 
take in each one. They also procured a musket, two 
pistols, some powder and bullets, some tools and six 
live turtles. From the light spars of the ship they 
rigged two masts for each boat and with the light can- 
vas provided each one with two spritsails and a jib. 
They also got some light cedar planking used to repair 
the boats, and with it built the gunwales up six inches 
all around. 



The Yarn of the Essex , Whaler 237 

On the 22nd of November, being then in 120 W.Long., 
and just north of the equator, the officers took counsel 
together as to what to do. The nearest lands were the 
Marquesas Islands, fifteen hundred miles away; the 
Society Islands, twenty-four hundred miles away, 
and the Sandwich Islands, three thousand miles 
away. They knew little about the first two groups, 
save that they were inhabited by fierce and treacherous 
savages from whom they had as much to fear as from 
the perils of the sea. The Sandwich Islands were too 
far away, and they would be apt to meet hurricanes, 
prevalent at that season, should they attempt to reach 
them. After a long deliberation they decided to take 
advantage of the southeast trades by sailing by the wind 
until they reached the twenty-fifth parallel of south 
latitude. Then falling in with westerly and variable 
winds, they could turn east and run for the coast of 
Chili or Peru. This course involved the longest voy- 
age, but it also promised the greatest chance for success. 

Sometimes they made good progress with favorable 
winds. At other times they lay immobile in the blaz- 
ing tropic sunlight which was almost unbearable. 
Often they were buffeted by fierce squalls or wild 
storms, especially as they left the equator. Only the 
important incidents of their unparalleled voyage can 
be dwelt upon. Most of the events mentioned hap- 
pened in the mate's boat, but the experience of the 
boat epitomes that of the others. 

The mate's boat was the smallest. He was allotted 
five men. The other two boats each contained one 
more man. The men were put on an allowance of 
one sea-biscuit, weighing about one pound and a 
quarter, and a pint of water a day. In the mate's 
boat the provisions were kept in his chest, which he 



238 Other Tales of Adventure 

locked. The men behaved in the most exemplary 
manner. In only one instance did any one ever 
attempt to steal provisions. They ran into a storm 
on the 24th, which wet some of their biscuit, and as 
it was necessary to get rid of the damaged bread as 
soon as possible, the daily allowance was taken from 
the spoiled portion exclusively. The soaked biscuit 
were very salt and greatly increased their thirst. 

During the long and exhausting voyage, a plank 
started in the mate's boat, and it was with difficulty 
that they heeled it over in the water, at the risk of 
their lives, to get to the place and nail it up. One 
night the captain's boat was attacked by a species of 
fish known as a "killer" (Orca), and its bows were 
stove in. This also they managed to patch up. On 
December 3rd, they ate the last of the spoiled salt 
bread, and their relief when they began on the other 
was amazing. Their thirst was terrible, especially 
as it became necessary to cut the allowance of food and 
water in half. They tried from time to time to catch 
rain water by means of the sails, but the canvas had 
been so often drenched by the spray that the water 
they caught was as salt as the sea. 

One day they caught half a dozen flying fish, which 
they ate raw. Mr. Chase remarks on the delicacy 
and daintiness of the mouthfuls which these little fish 
afforded the starving mariners. They fished for dol- 
phins and porpoises, but they never caught any, 
perhaps because they had nothing with which to bait 
the hooks. One day, seeking to alleviate the pangs 
of thirst by wetting their bodies, three of the men 
dropped into the water alongside and clung to the 
gunwale. One of them discovered that the boat's 
bottom was covered with barnacles. They were 



The Yarn of the Essex, Whaler 239 

ravenously devoured, but proved of little value as food. 
The men in the water vi^ere so weak that had it not been 
for the efforts of three who had remained in the boat, 
sceptical as to the utility of the bath, they would 
never have been able to regain their positions. Dur- 
ing all these experiences, discipline was maintained — 
indeed, it was maintained to the very last. 

On the 15th of December, they reached Ducie 
Island, in Long. 124 degrees 40 minutes W., Lat. 24 
degrees 40 minutes S., having come some seventeen 
hundred miles in twenty-three days in these open boats. 
They landed on the island and found a few shell-fish, 
birds, and a species of pepper-grass, but no water. 
The famished men soon consumed everything eatable 
they could come at on the island. They hunted high 
and low, but it was not until the 22nd that they found 
a spring of water. The island was almost desolate. 
Nothing was to be gained by remaining there, so the 
majority concluded to sail for Easter Island, some nine 
hundred miles southward. Three men decided to stay 
on the island. They all spent a melancholy Christmas 
there, repairing their boats and filling their water- 
breakers,, and on the 27th the others took their 
departure. 

On the 14th of January, 1821, they found that they 
had been driven to the south of Easter Island, and 
that it was not practicable to beat up to it. They 
therefore determined to head for Juan Fernandez — 
Robinson Crusoe's Island — some two thousand miles 
southeastward. On the loth, the second mate, Mat- 
thew Joy, died from exposure, and was buried the next 
morning. On the 12th in the midst of a terrible 
storm, the boats separated. 

First we will follow the course of the mate's boat. 



240 Other Tales of Adventure 

On the 20th, Peterson, a black man, died and was 
buried. On the 8th of February, Isaac Cole, a white 
seaman, died. The men on the boat were by this time 
in a frightful condition, weak and emaciated to the 
last degree. Their provisions were almost gone. 
But two biscuit to a man remained. They were still 
over a thousand miles from land. They came to a 
fearful determination. The body of Cole was not 
buried. They lived on him from the 9th to the 14th. 
On the 15th and i6th, they consumed the last vestige 
of their biscuit. 

On the 17th, driving along at the mercy of wind and 
wave, for there was not a man strong enough to do 
anything, they caught sight of the Island of Massa- 
fuera. They were helpless to bring the boat near to 
the Island. Whale-boats were steered by an oar. 
There was not a single man able to lift an oar. In 
addition to starvation, thirst, weakness, mental anguish, 
their legs began to swell with a sort of scurvy, giving 
them excessive pain. Their condition can scarcely be 
imagined. The breath of life was there, nothing more. 

However, they had at last reached the end of their 
sufferings, for on the morning of the 19th of February, 
1821, in Lat. 35 degrees 45 minutes S., Long. 81 degrees 
03 minutes W., the three surviving men were picked 
up by the brig Indian, of London, Captain William 
Crozier. On the 25th of February, they arrived at 
Valparaiso, ninety-six days and nearly four thousand 
miles from the sinking of the ship! 

The other two boats managed to keep together for 
a little while after they lost sight of tlie mate's boat. 
On the 14th of February, provisions in the second 
mate's boat gave out entirely. On the 15th, Lawson 
Thomas, a black man, died in that boat and was eaten. 



The Yarn of the Essex y Whaler 241 

The captain's boat ran out of provisions on the 2ist. 
On the 23rd Charles Shorter, another Negro, died in 
the second mate's boat and was shared between the 
two boats. On the 27th another black man died 
from the same boat, furnishing a further meal for the 
survivors. On the 28th, Samuel Reed, the last black 
man, died in the captain's boat and was eaten like the 
rest. Singular that all the Negroes died first! 

On the 29th, in a storm, these two boats separated. 
When they parted the second mate's boat had three 
living white men in her. Nothing was ever heard of 
her. 

It might be inferred from the fact that the surviving 
men had had something to eat, that they were in fair 
physical condition. That is far from the truth. The 
men who had died were nothing but skin and bone, and 
all that the survivors got from their ghastly meals 
was the bare prolongation of a life which sank steadily 
to a lower and lower ebb. We may not judge these 
people too harshly. Hunger and thirst make men mad. 
They scarcely realized what they did. 

There was worse to come. On the ist of February, 
1 82 1, being without food or drink of any sort, the four 
men in the captain's boat cast lots as to which should 
die for the others. There is something significant of 
a spirit of fair play and discipline, not without its 
admirable quality, that under such circumstances, 
the weaker were not overpowered by the stronger, but 
that each man had an equal chance for life. The lot 
fell upon Owen Coffin,* the captain's nephew. He 
did not repine. He expressed his willir^gness to abide 

* A tradition still current in Nantucket has it that the lot fell to the captain, where- 
upon his nephew, already near death, feeling that he could not survive the afternooB, 
offered and insisted upon taking his uncle's place. I doubt this. 



242 Other Tales of Adventure 

by the decision. No man desired to be his executioner. 
They cast lots, as before, to determine who should kill 
him, and the lot fell upon Charles Ramsdale. By him 
Coffin was shot. 

Thus they eked out a miserable existence until the 
nth of February, when Barzilla Ray died. On the 
23rd of February, the two remaining men, the captain 
and Ramsdale, just on the point of casting lots as to 
which should have the last poor chance for life, were 
picked up by the Nantucket whaler, DaiipJiiru Captain 
Zimri Coffin. They had almost reached St. Mary's 
Island, ten miles from the coast of Chili. On the 17th 
of March, these two survivors joined the three from 
the mate's boat in Valparaiso. 

In the harbor was the United States frigate. Con- 
stfUatioriy Captain Charles G. Ridgeley, U. S. N. As 
soon as her commander heard of the three left on 
Ducie Island, he arranged with Captain Thomas 
Raines, of the British merchant ship, Surrey, to touch 
at the island on his voyage to Australia and take oft' 
the men. Captain Raines found them still alive, but 
reduced to the last gasp. 

Thus of the twenty men, five reached Valparaiso; 
three were saved on the island, three were lost in the 
second mate's boat, two died and were buried; six 
died and were eaten, and one was shot and eaten. 

So ends this strange tragedy of the sea. 



Part II 
OTHER TALES OF ADVENTURE 

II 
Some Famous American Duels 



Some Famous American Duels 



WE are accustomed to regard our country 
as peculiarly law-abiding and peaceful. 
This, in spite of the fact that three 
presidents have been murdered within the last 
forty-five years, a record of assassination of chief 
magistrates surpassed in no other land, not even 
in Russia. We need not be surprised to learn that 
in no country was the serious duel, the combat a I'out- 
rance, so prevalent as in the United States at one 
period of our national development. The code of 
honor, so-called, was most profoundly respected by 
our ancestors; and the number of eminent men who 
engaged in duelling — and of whom many lost their 
lives on the field — is astonishing. Scarce any meet- 
ing was without its fatal termination, perhaps owing 
to the fact that pistols and rifles were generally used, 
and Americans are noted for their marksmanship. 

There has been a revulsion of public sentiment which 
has brought about the practical abolition of duelling 
in America. Although the practice still obtains in 
continental European countries, it is here regarded as 
immoral, and it is illegal as well. For one reason, 
in spite of the apparent contradiction above, we are 
a law-abiding people. The genius of the Anglo- 
Saxon — I, who am a Celt, admit it — is for the 
orderly administration of the law, and much of the evil 
noted comes from the introduction within our borders 

245 



246 Other Tales of Adventure 

of an imperfectly assimilated foreign element which 
cherishes different views on the subject. Another 
deterrent cause is a cool common sense which has 
recognized the futility of trying to settle with blade or 
bullet differences which belong to the courts; to this 
may be added a keen sense of humor which has seen 
the absurdity and laughed the practice out of existence. 
The freedom of the press has also been a contributing 
factor. Perhaps the greatest deterrent, however, has 
been the development of a sense of responsibility for 
life and its uses to a Higher Power. 

As General Grant has put it, with the matchless 
simplicity of greatness: "I do not believe I ever would 
have the courage to fight a duel. If any man should 
wrong me to the extent of my being willing to kill him, 
I should not be willing to give him the choice of weapons 
with which it should be done, and of the time, place, 
and distance separating us when I executed him. If 
I should do any other such a wrong as to justify him 
in killing me, I would make any reasonable atonement 
within my power, if convinced of the wrong done." 

With this little preliminary, I shall briefly review 
a few of the most noted duels in our history. 

I. A Tragedy of Old New York 

On Wednesday, the nth of July, 1804, at seven 
o'clock on a bright, sunny, summer morning, two 
men, pistol in hand, confronted each other on a nar- 
row shelf of rocky ground jutting out from the cliffs 
that overlook the Hudson at Weehawken, on the Jersey 
shore. One was a small, slender man, the other taller 
and more imposing in appearance. Both had been 
soldiers; each faced the other in grave quietude, 



Some Famous American Duels 247 

without giving outward evidence of any special 
emotion. 

One was at that time the Vice-president of the 
United States; the other had been Secretary of the 
Treasury, a general in command of the army, and was 
the leading lawyer of his time. The Vice-president 
was brilliahtly clever; the ex-Secretary was a genius 
of the first order. 

A political quarrel had brought them to this sorry 
position. Words uttered in the heat of campaign, 
conveying not so much a personal attack as a well- 
merited public censure, had been dwelt upon until the 
Vice-president had challenged his political antagonist. 
The great attorney did not believe in duels. He was 
a Christian, a man of family; he had everything to lose 
and little to gain from this meeting. Upon his great 
past he might hope to build an even greater future. 
He was possessed of sufficient moral courage to 
refuse the meeting, but had, nevertheless, deliberately 
accepted the other's challenge. It is believed that he 
did so from a high and lofty motive; that he felt per- 
suaded of the instability of the Government which he 
had helped to found, and that he realized that he 
possessed qualities which in such a crisis would be of 
rare service to his adopted country. His future useful- 
ness, he thought — erroneously, doubtless, but he 
believed it — would be impaired if any one could cast 
a doubt upon his courage by pointing to the fact that 
he had refused a challenge. 

Thirty months before, his son, a bright lad of eigh- 
teen, fresh from Columbia College, had been shot dead 
in a duel which he had brought upon himself by resent- 
ing a public criticism of his father. He had fallen on 
that very spot where his father stood. I think that 



248 Other Tales of Adventure 

the tragedy must have been in the great statesman's 
mind that summer morning. 

The word was given. The two pistols were dis- 
charged. The Vice-president, taking deUberate aim, 
fired first. The ex-Secretary of the Treasury, who 
had previously stated to his second that he did not 
intend to fire at his adversary, discharged his pistol in 
the air. He had been hit by the bullet of his enemy, and 
did not know that as he fell, by a convulsive movement, 
he had pulled the trigger of the weapon in his hand. 

That was the end — for he died the next day after 
lingering agonies — of Alexander Hamilton, the great- 
est intellect and one of the greatest personalities asso- 
ciated with the beginning of this Government. It was 
also the end of his successful antagonist, Aaron Burr, 
for thereafter he was a marked man, an avoided, a 
hated man. When abroad in 1808, he gave Jeremy' 
Bentham an account of the duel, and said that he 
"was sure of being able to kill him." "And so," 
replied Bentham, "I thought it little better than a 
murder." "Posterity," the historian adds, "will not 
be likely to disturb the judgment of the British phil- 
osopher." 

n. Andrew Jackson as a Duellist 

Comparatively speaking, the next great duel on my 
list attracted little more than local attention at the 
time. Years after, when one of them who took part 
in it had risen to national fame, and was a candidate for 
the Presidency, it was revived and made much of. On 
Friday, the 30th of May, 1806, Charles Dickinson, a 
young man of brilliant abihties, born in Maryland and 
residing in Tennessee, met Andrew Jackson, of the 




" The Killing of Alexander Hamilton by Aaron Burr, atWeehawken, 
New Jersey, July ii, 1804 " 



Some Famous American Duels 249 

latter state, near the banks of a small stream called 
the Red River, in a sequestered woodland glade in 
Logan County, Ky., a day's ride from Nashville. 

Unwittingly, and with entire innocence on the part 
of both parties, Andrew Jackson had placed his wife 
in an equivocal position by marrying her before a 
divorce had separated her from her husband*. Abso- 
lutely no blame, except, perhaps, a censure for care- 
lessness, attaches to Jackson or his wife, and their 
whole life together was an example of conjugal affec- 
tion. However, his enemies — and he had many — 
found it easy to strike at him through this unfortunate 
episode. There did not live a more implacable and 
unforgiving man, when his wife was slandered, than 
Andrew Jackson. 

Dickinson, who was a political rival, spoke slur- 
ringly of Mrs. Jackson. He apologized for it on the 
plea that he had been in his cups at the time, but 
Jackson never forgave him. A political difference as 
an ostensible cause of quarrel soon developed. Dick- 
inson sent a challenge which was gladly accepted. The 
resulting duel was probably the most dramatic that 
ever occurred in the United States. Dickinson was 
a dead shot. So, for that matter, was Jackson, but 
Dickinson was remarkable for the quickness of his 
fire, while Jackson was slower. The arrangements 
stipulated that the combatants should be placed at the 
close distance of eight paces; that the word "fire!" 
should be given, after which each was to fire one shot 
at will. Rather than be hurried and have his aim 
disturbed, Jackson determined to sustain Dickinson's 
fire and then return it at his leisure. 

* The reader may consult my book " The True Andrew Jackson " for a detailed 
account of this interesting transaction. 



250 Other Tales of Adventure 

"What if he kills you or disables you?" asked his 
second. 

"Sir," replied Jackson deHberately, "I shall kill 
him though he should hit me in the brain!" 

This is no gasconade or bravado, but simply an 
e\4dence of an intensity of purpose, of which no man 
ever had a greater supply than Andrew Jackson. 

Dickinson fired instantly the word was given. A 
fleck of dust arose from the loose coat which covered 
the spare form of the General, but he stood apparently 
untouched. Dickinson, amazed, shrank back from 
the peg indicating his position. Old General Over- 
ton, Jackson's second, raised his pistol. 

"Back to the mark, sir!" he thundered, as the 
unhappy young man exclaimed in dismay. 

"Great God! Have I missed him V 

Dickinson recovered himself immediately, stepped 
back to the mark, and folded his arms to receive Jack- 
son's fire. The hammer of the Tennesseean's pistol 
stopped at half-cock. He deliberately re-cocked his 
weapon, took careful aim again, and shot Dickinson 
through the body. Seeing his enemy fall, Jackson 
turned and walked away. It was not until he had gone 
one hundred yards from the duelling ground and was 
hidden by the thick poplar trees, that his second noticed 
that one of his shoes was filled with blood. Dickinson 
had hit the General in the breast, inflicting a severe 
wound, and might have killed him had not the bullet 
glanced on a rib. The iron-nerved Jackson declared 
that his reason for concealing his wound was that he 
did not intend to give Dickinson the satisfaction of 
knowing that he had hit his enemy before he died. 

Tw^enty-two years after, as Jackson stood by his 
dead wife's body, he " lifted his cane as if appealing to 



Some Famous American Duels 251 

heaven, and by a look commanding silence, said, slowly 
and painfully, and with a voice full of bitter tears : 

*"In the presence of this dear saint I can and do 
forgive all my enemies. But those vile wretches who 
have slandered her must look to God for mercy!'" 

III. The KilHng of Stephen Decatur 

The idol of the American Navy was Stephen Decatur. 
James Barron, a disgraced officer under suspension for 
his lack of conduct during the famous affair beween 
the British ship Leopard and the American ship Chesa- 
peake, had taken no part in the war of 1812, for causes 
which afforded him sufficient excuse; but subsequently 
he sought re-employment in the navy. Decatur, who 
had been one of the court which tried and sentenced 
him before the war, and who was now a naval com- 
missioner, opposed his plea. The situation brought 
forth a challenge from Barron. Decatur was under 
no necessity of meeting it. As commissioner, he was 
in effect, Barron's superior, and Washington had laid 
down a rule for General Greene's guidance in a similar 
case that a superior officer is not amenable to challenge 
from a junior officer whom he has offended in course 
of duty. The principle is sound common sense, as 
everybody, even duellists, will admit. Nevertheless, 
such was the state of public opinion about questions 
of "honor" that Decatur felt constrained to accept 
the challenge. 

The two naval officers met on the duelling ground at 
Bladensburg, "the cockpit of Washington duelHsts," 
on the 22nd of March, 1820. Barron was near- 
sighted, and insisted upon a closer distance than the 
usual ten paces. They were placed a scant eight 



252 Other Tales of Adventure 

paces apart. Decatur, who was a dead shot, did not 
wish to kill Barron; at the same time he did not deem 
it safe to stand his adversary's fire without return. 
Therefore he stated to his second that he would shoot 
Barron in the hip. Before the duel, Barron expressed 
the hope that if they met in another world they might 
be better friends. Decatur replied gravely that he 
had never been Barron's enemy. Under such circum- 
stances it would appear that the quarrel might have 
been composed without the shedding of blood. 

At the word "two" the men fired together, Decatur's 
bullet struck Barron in the hip, inflicting a severe but 
not mortal wound. At the same instant Barron's bullet 
passed through Decatur's abdomen, inflicting a wound 
necessarily fatal then, probably so, even now. As he 
lay on the ground the great commodore said faintly: 

" I am mortally wounded — at least, I believe so — 
and I wish I had fallen in defence of my country." 

He died at ten o'clock that night, regretted by all 
who love brave men the world over. 

IV. An Episode in the Life of James Bowie 

Of a diff'erent character, but equally interesting, 
was an encounter in August, 1829, which has become 
famous because of one of the weapons used with deadly 
eflTect. On an island in the Mississippi River, opposite 
Natchez, which was nothing but a sand bar with some 
undergrowth upon it, a party of men met to witness 
and second a duel between a Dr. Maddox and one 
Samuel Wells. The spectators were all interested 
in one or the other combatant, and had taken part in 
a neighborhood feud which arose out of a specula- 
tion in land. 



Some Famous American Duels 253 

The two principals exchanged two shots without 
injury, whereupon the seconds and spectators, unable 
to restrain their animosity, started a free fight. Judge 
Crane, of Mississippi, was the leader on one side; 
James Bowie, of Georgia, the principal man on the 
other. Crane was armed with a brace of duelUng 
pistols; Bowie had nothing but a knife. Bowie and a 
friend of his, named Currey, attacked Crane after 
the Maddox- Wells duel had been abandoned. Crane 
was wounded in the left arm by a shot from Currey; 
he thereupon shot Currey dead and with his remaining 
pistol he wounded Bowie in the groin. Nevertheless, 
Bowie resolutely came on. Crane struck him over 
the head with his pistol, felling him to the ground. 
Undaunted, Bowie scrambled to his feet and made 
again for Crane. 

Major Wright, a friend of Crane's, now interposed, 
and thrust at Bowie with a sword cane. The blade 
tore open Bowie's breast. The terrible Georgian, 
twice wounded though he was, caught Wright by the 
neck-cloth, grappled with him, and threw him to the 
ground, falling upon him. 

"Now, Major, you die,'* said Bowie coolly, wrench- 
ing his arm free and plunging his knife into Wright's 
heart. 

The knife had been made by Bowie's brother Rezin 
out of a blacksmith's rasp. It was shaped in accord- 
ance with his own ideas, and James Bowie used it with 
terrible effect. It was the first of the celebrated 
" Bowie knives " which played so great a part in fron- 
tier quarrels. 

In the general melee which followed the death of 
Wright and Currey, six other men were killed and fif- 
teen severely wounded. Bowie was a noted duellist 



254 Other Tales of Adventure 

in his day, and died heroically in the famous siege of 
the Alamo*. 

On one occasion he was a passenger on a Mississ- 
ippi steamboat with a young man and his bride. The 
young man had collected a large sum of money for 
friends and employers, which he gambled away on the 
boat. Bowie kept him from suicide, took his place 
at the gaming-table, exposed the cheating of the gam- 
blers, was challenged by one of them, fought him on the 
hurricane deck of the steamer, shot him into the river, 
and restored the money to the distracted husband. 

Brief reference may be made to an affair between 
Major Thomas Biddle, of the United States Army, 
and Congressman Spencer Pettis, of Missouri, on 
August 27, 1 83 1. The cause of the duel was a political 
difficulty. The two men stood five feet apart, their 
pistols overlapping. Both were mortally wounded. 
This was nothing less than a double murder, and shows 
to what length men will go under the heat of passion 
or the stimulus of a false code of honor. 

V. A Famous Congressional Duel 

On February the 24, 1838, at a quarter after three 
o'clock on the Marlborough Road in Maryland, just 
outside the District of Columbia, two members of Con- 
gress, Jonathan Cilley of Maine, and WilHam J. Graves 
of Kentucky, exchanged shots with rifles at a distance 
of ninety yards three times in succession. At the third 
exchange, Cilley was shot and died in three minutes. 
Of all the causes for deadly encounters, that which 
brought these two men opposite each other was the 

* See my "Border Fights and Fighters" in this series for an account of this dramatic 
and heroic adventure. 



Some Famous American Duels 255 

most foolish. Cilley, on the floor of the House, had 
reflected upon the character of a newspaper editor in the 
discussion of charges which had been made against cer- 
tain Congressmen with whom he had no personal con- 
nection. The newspaper editor, whose subsequent 
conduct showed that he fully merited even more 
severe strictures than Cilley had passed upon him, sent 
a challenge to the gentleman from Maine by the hand 
of Congressman Graves. 

Cilley took the justifiable position that his lan- 
guage had been proper and privileged, and that he did 
not propose to accept a challenge or discuss the mat- 
ter with any one. He assured Graves that this declina- 
tion to pursue the matter further was not to be con- 
strued as a reflection upon the bearer of the challenge. 
There was no quarrel whatever between Cilley and 
Graves. Nevertheless, Graves took the ground that 
the refusal to accept the challenge which he had 
brought was a reflection upon him. He thereupon 
challenged Cilley on his own behalf. Eff'orts were 
made to compose the quarrel but Cilley was not willing 
to go further than he had already done. He positively 
refused to discuss the editor in question. He would 
only repeat that he intended no reflection upon Mr. 
Graves, whom he respected and esteemed, by refusing 
the editor's challenge. This was not satisfactory to 
Graves, and the duel was, accordingly, arranged. 

During its course, after each fruitless exchange of 
shots, efforts were made to end the aff'air, but Graves 
refused to accept Cilley*s statement, again repeated, 
that he had no reflection to cast uppn Mr. Graves, 
and Cilley refused to abandon the position he had taken 
with regard to the editor. Never did a more foolish 
punctilio bring about so terrible a result. Aside from 



256 Other Tales of Adventure 

accepting the challenge, Cilley had pursued a dignified 
and proper course. Graves, to put it mildly, had played 
the fool. He was practically a disgraced man there- 
after. The Congressional committee which investi- 
gated the matter censured him in the severest terms, and 
recommended his expulsion from Congress. Perhaps 
the public indignation excited by this wretched affair 
did more to discredit duelling than any previous event. 

VI. The Last Notable Duel in America 

The last notable American duel was that between 
United States Senator Broderick, of California, and 
ex-Chief Justice Terry, of the Supreme Court of the 
same state, on September 13, 1859. This, too, arose 
from political differences. Broderick and Terry 
belonged to different factions of the growing Repub- 
lican party, each struggling for control in California. 
Broderick was strongly anti-slavery, and his opponents 
wanted him removed. Terry was defeated in his cam- 
paign for reelection largely, as he supposed, through 
Broderick's efforts. The two men had been good 
friends previously. Broderick had stood by Terry on 
one occasion when everybody else had been against 
him and his situation had been critical. In his anger 
over his defeat, Terry accused Broderick of disgraceful 
and underhand practices. Broderick was provoked 
into the following rejoinder: 

"I see that Terry has been abusing me. I now 
take back the remark I once made that he is the only 
honest judge in the Supreme Court. I was his friend 
when he was in need of friends, for which I am sorry. 
Had the vigilance committee disposed of him as they 
did of others, they would have done a righteous act." 



Some Famous American Duels 257 

He alluded to Terry's arrest by the Vigilantes in 
August, 1856, charged with cutting a man named 
Sterling A. Hopkins, in the attempt to free from arrest 
one Reuben Maloney. Had Hopkins died, Terry 
would probably have been hung. As it was, it took the 
strongest influence — Masonic, press and other — to 
save him from banishment. 

Terry, after some acrimonious correspondence, chal- 
lenged Broderick. A meeting on the 12th of Sep- 
tember was stopped by the Chief of Police of San 
Francisco. The police magistrate before whom the 
duellists were arraigned, discharged them on the 
ground that there had been no actual misdemeanor. 

Next day the principals and the seconds met again 
at the foot of Lake Merced, about twelve miles from 
San Francisco. About eighty spectators, friends of 
the participants, were present. The distance was the 
usual ten paces. Both pistols had hair triggers, but 
Broderick's was more delicately set than Terry's, 
so much so that a jar might discharge it. Broderick's 
seconds were inexperienced men, and no one realized 
the importance of this difference. 

At the word both raised their weapons. Broderick's 
was discharged before he had elevated it sufficiently, 
and his bullet struck the ground about six feet in front 
of Terry. Terry was surer and shot his antagonist 
through the lung. Terry, who acted throughout with 
cold-blooded indifference, watched his antagonist fall 
and remarked that the wound was not mortal, as he 
had struck two inches to the right. He then left the 
field. 

When Broderick fell, one of the bystanders, named 
Davis, shouted out: 

"That is murder, by God!" 



258 Other Tales of Adventure 

Dra\Aing his own weapon, he started for Terry, 
exclaiming: "I am Broderick's friend. I'm not going 
to see him killed in that way. If you are men you will 
join me in avenging his death!" 

Some cool heads in the multitude restrained him, 
pointing out that if he attacked Terry there would be 
a eeneral tuHt't\ from which few on the ground would 
escape, and they finally succeeded in getting him away. 

Broderick lingered for three days. 

"They have killed me," he said, "because I was 
opposed to slavery and a corrupt administration." 

Colonel Edward D. Baker, who was killed at Ball's 
Bluff in the Civil War, received his friend's last words. 

'T tried to stand firm when I was wounded, but I 
could not. The blow bhnded me." 

Terry was tried for murder, but by influence and 
other means he was never convicted, and escaped all 
punishment save that inflicted by his conscience. 

In judging these aft'airs, it must be remembered 
that many of the most prominent Americans of the 
past — Benton, Clay, Calhoun and Houston among 
them — fought duels. And it is well known that only 
Abraham Lincoln's wit and humor saved him from 
a deadly encounter ^^^th General James Shields, whose 
challenge he accepted. 



Part II 
OTHER TALES OF ADVENTURE 

III 
The Cruise of the Tonquin 



The Cruise of the Tonquin 

A Forgotten Tragedy in Early American History 

ON THE morning of the 8th of September, 1810, 
two ships were running side by side before 
a fresh southwesterly breeze off Sandy 
Hook, New York. One was the great United 
States ship Constitution^ Captain Isaac Hull; the 
other was the little full-rigged ship Tonquin., of 
two hundred and ninety tons burden. 

This little vessel was captained by one Jonahant 
Thorn, who was at the time a lieutenant in the United 
States Navy. He had obtained leave of absence for 
the purpose of making a cruise in the Tonquin Thorn 
was a thoroughly experienced seaman and a skilled and 
practised navigator. He was a man of magnificent 
physique, with a fine war record. 

He was with Decatur in the Intrepid when he put 
the captured Philadelphia to flames six years before. 
In the subsequent desperate gunboat fighting at 
TripoH, Midshipman Thorn had borne so distin- 
guished a part that he received special commendation 
by Commodore Preble. As to his other quahties, 
Washington Irving, who knew him from infancy, 
wrote of him to the last with a warm affection which 
nothing could diminish. 

Mr. John Jacob Astor, merchant, fur-trader, finan- 
cier, had pitched upon Thorn as the best man to take 

261 



262 Other Tales of Adventure 

the ship bearing the first representatives of the Pacific 
Fur Company around the Horn and up to the far 
northwestern American coast to make the first settle- 
ment at Astoria, whose history is so interwoven with 
that of our country. 

Mr. Astor already monopolized the fur trade of the 
Far West south of the Great Lakes. His present plan 
was to form a fur company and establish a series of 
trading posts along the Missouri River, reaching 
overland across the Rocky Mountains until they joined 
the posts on the Pacific. The place he selected for his 
Pacific depot was the mouth of the Columbia River. 

The principal rival of the Astor Fur Trading Com- 
pany was the Northwest Company. Astor tried to 
persuade the company to join him in his new venture. 
When it refused to do so as an organization, he 
approached individual employees of the Company, 
and in 18 10 formed the Pacific Fur Company. Among 
the incorporators were four Scottish Canadians, Messrs. 
McKay, McDougall, David Stuart, and Robert, his 
nephew. There were several other partners, includ- 
ing Wilson Price Hunt, of New Jersey. 

It was planned that Hunt should lead an overland 
expedition from St. Louis, while the four Scotsmen 
mentioned went around the Horn, and that they should 
meet at the mouth of the Columbia River, where the 
trading post was to be situated. Most of the employees 
of the company were Canadians who had enjoyed large 
experience in the fur business. Among these were 
included a large number of French voyageurs. 

Thus the Tonquiiiy owned by a German, captained 
by an American, with a crew including Swedes, French, 
English, Negroes, and Americans, carrying out a party 
of Scottish and French Canadians and one Russian, 



The Cruise of the Tonquin 263 

started on her memorable voyage to establish a trad- 
ing post under the American flag! The crew of the 
Tonquin numbered twenty-three men. The number 
of passengers was thirty-three. 

The story of her voyage is related in the letters of the 
captain to Mr. Astor, and more fully in a quaint and 
curious French journal pubHshed at Montreal in 1819, 
by M. Gabriel Franchere, one of the Canadian clerks 
who made the voyage. 

The Tonquin was pierced for twenty guns, only ten 
small ones being mounted. The other ports were pro- 
vided with imposing wooden dummies. She had a 
high poop and a topgallant forecastle. The four 
partners, with James Lewis, acting captain's clerk, 
and one other, with the two mates, slept in the cabin 
or wardroom below the poop. Forward of this main 
cabin was a large room extending across the ship, 
called the steerage, in which the rest of the clerks, 
the mechanics, and the Canadian boatmen were 
quartered. 

Thorn seems to have felt to the full all the early 
naval officer's utterly unmerited contempt for the 
merchant service. It is also the habit of the Anglo- 
Saxon to hold the French in slight esteem on the sea. 
The Canadians were wretched sailors, and Thorn 
despised them. Thorn also cherished a natural hatred 
against the English, who were carrying things with a 
high hand on our coast. He began the voyage with a 
violent prejudice against the four partners on his ship. 
Indeed, the Constitution had convoyed the Tonquin 
to sea because it was rumored that a British brig-o'- 
war intended to swoop down upon her and take ofi^ the 
English subjects on board. It was quite evident 
that war would shortly break out between England 



264 Other Tales of Adventure 

and the United States, and the Scottish partners had 
surreptitiously consulted the Enghsh consul as to 
what they should do if hostilities began. They were 
informed that in that case they would he treated as 
British subjects — a iine situation for an American 
expedition! 

With such a spirit in the captain, and such a feeling 
on the part ot the passengers, the relations between 
them were bound to become strained. Hostilities 
be£;an at once. The first night out Thorn ordered 
all lights out at eight bells. This in spite of all the 
remonstrances of the four partners, who, as represen- 
ting Mr. Astor, considered themselves, properly enough, 
as o^^Tlers of the ship. These gentlemen did not wish 
to retire at so early an hour, nor did they desire to 
spend the intervening time in darkness. They remon- 
strated with Thorn, and he told them, in the terse, 
blunt language of a seaman, to keep quiet or he would 
put them in irons. In case he attempted that, they 
threatened to resort to firearms for protection. Finally, 
however, the captain allowed them a little longer use 
of their lights. Thus was inaugurated a long, dis- 
o-raceful wrangle that did not cease while life lasted. 

There was doubtless much fault on both sides, but, 
in spite of the brilliant advocate who has pleaded 
Thorn's cause, I cannot but admit that he was decidedly 
the more to blame. He carried things with a high hand, 
indeed, treating the partners as he might a graceless 
lot of undisciplined midshipmen. 

A vovage around the Horn in those days was no 
slight matter. The Toriquin was a remarkably good 
sailer, but it was not until the 5th of October that they 
sighted the Cape Verde Islands. There they struck 
the Trades, and went booming down the African coast 



The Cruise of the Tonquin 265 

at a great rate. There, also, they were pursued by a 
large man-o'-war brig. On the third day she drew so 
near that Thorn prepared for action, whereupon the 
brig sheered off, and left them. 

On the nth of October they ran into a terrific storm, 
which prevailed until the 21st, when they found them- 
selves off the River Plate. While the storm was at 
its height the man at the wheel was thrown across the 
deck by a sudden jump of the wheel and severely 
injured, breaking three of his ribs and fracturing his 
collar-bone*. Thorn's seamanship during the trying 
period was first class. After the gale blew itself out, a 
fresh breeze succeeded, which enabled them rapidly to 
run down their southing. The water supply had 
grown very low, and it was determined to run in to the 
Falkland Islands to fill the casks. 

They made a landfall on the 3rd of December, got 
on shore on one of the smaller islets on the 4th, found 
no water, and were driven to sea to seek an oflSng on the 
5th by a gale. On the 6th they landed at Point Egmont 
on the West Falkland, and found a fine spring of fresh 
water. As it would take several days to fill the casks, 
all the passengers went ashore and camped on the 
deserted island. They amused themselves by fishing, 
shooting and rambling about. On the nth of the 
month the captain, having filled his water-casks, sig- 
nalled for every man to come aboard, by firing a gun. 
Eight passengers, including McDougall and Stuart, 
happened to be on shore at the time. They had wan- 
dered around to the other side of the island, and did 
not hear the report of the gun. Thorn, after wait- 
ing a short time, weighed anchor and filled away from 

* I have seen a man at the wheel of the old Constellation on one of my own 
cruises similarly injured. 



266 Other Tales of Adventure 

the island, hrmlv resolved to leave the men ashore, 
marooned and destitute of suppHes on that desolate 
and uninhabited spot, where thev must inevitably 
perish o{ starvation and exposure. 

Some of the abandoned passengers happened to see 
the Tonquin fast leaving the island. In great alarm they 
hastilv summoned all the other wanderers, and the eight 
£ot into a small boat twentv feet lonir, which had been 
left with them, and rowed after the rapidly receding 
ship. Thev had not the slightest hope of catching her 
unless she waited for them, but thev pulled for her 
with furious energ^^ nevertheless. As the Tonquin 
£0t from under the lee of the land the breeze freshened 
and she drew awa\- from them with everv passing 
moment in spite of their manful work at the oars. 
^^^^en thev had about given up in exhaustion and des- 
pair, the ship suddenly changed her course and stood 
toward them. 

Franchere savs that it was because voung Stuart put 
a pistol to the captain's head and swore that he would 
blow out his brains unless he went back for the boat. 
The captain's account to Mr. Astor is that a sudden 
shift of ^^^nd compelled him to come about and this 
gave the boat an opportunity to overhaul him. There 
was a scene of wild recrimination when the boat 
reached the ship, shortly after six bells (^3 P. m.), but 
it did not seem to bother Thorn in the least. 

On the 1 8th of December, they were south and east 
of Cape Horn. The weather was mild and pleasant, 
but before they could make headway enough against 
the swift easterly current to round that most dangerous 
point it came on to blow a regular Cape Horn gale. 
After seven days of hard beating they celebrated Christ- 
mas under pleasanter auspices in the southern Pacific. 



The Cruise of the Tonquin 267 

Their run northward was uneventful, and on the nth 
of February, 181 1, they sighted the volcano of Mauna 
Loa in the Sandwich Islands. They landed on the 12th 
and spent sixteen days among the different islands, 
visiting, filling the water-casks, and buying fresh 
meat, vegetables, and live-stock from Kamehameha I. 

While Captain Thorn was hated by the passengers, he 
was not loved by his officers. Singularly enough, he 
seems to have been well liked by the crew, although 
there were some exceptions even there. Anderson, 
the boatswain, left the ship at Hawaii. There had 
been difficulties between them, and the captain was 
glad to see him go. A sample of Thorn's method 
of administering discipline is interesting. 

The day they sailed a seaman named Aymes strayed 
from the boat party, and was left behind when the 
boat returned to the ship. In great terror Aymes had 
some natives bring him aboard in a canoe. A long- 
boat loaded with fodder for the live-stock lay along- 
side. As Aymes clambered into the long-boat, the 
captain, who was furiously angry, sprang down into the 
boat, seized Aymes with one hand and a stout piece 
of sugar-cane with the other. With this formidable 
weapon the unfortunate sailor was beaten until he 
screamed for mercy. After wearing out the sugar- 
cane upon him, with the remark that if he ever saw him 
on the sloop again, he would kill him, the captain 
pitched him into the water. Aymes, who was a good 
swimmer, made the best of his way to the shore, and 
stayed there with Anderson. Twenty-four natives 
were shipped at Hawaii, twelve for the crew and twelve 
for the new settlement. 

On the 1 6th of March they ran into another storm, 
of such violence that they were forced to strike their 



268 Other Tales of Adventure 

topgallant masts and scud under double-reefed foresail. 
As they were nearing the coast, the ship was hove to at 
night. Early on the morning of die 22nd of March, 
thev sighted land, one hundred and ninetv-five days and 
twenty thousand miles from Sandy Hook. The 
weather was still very severe, the \^'ind blowing in heavy 
squalls and the sea running high, and the captain did 
not think it prudent to approach the shore nearer than 
three miles. His na^dgation had been excellent, how- 
ever, for before them la\' the mouth of the Columbia 
River, the object of tlieir long voyage. They could see 
the waves breaking over the bar ^^•ith tremendous 
force as they beat to and fro along the coast. 

Thorn, ignorant of the channel, did not dare take the 
ship in under such conditions. He therefore ordered 
First-]\Iate Ebenezer Fox to take Sailmaker Martin 
and three Canadians into a boat and find the channel. 
It was a hazardous undertaking, and the despatch of 
the small boat under such circumstances was a serious 
error in judgment. 

There had been bad blood between the captain and 
the mate, and Fox did not wish to go. If he had to go, 
he begsed that his boat mio;ht be manned with seamen 
instead of Canadians. The captain refused to change 
his orders. Fox appealed to the partners. They 
remonstrated with the captain, but they could not alter 
his determination. The boat was pulled away and 
was lost to sight in the breakers. Neither the boat 
nor any member of the crew was ever seen or heard of 
again. The boat was ill-found and ill-manned. She 
was undoubtedly caught in the breakers and foundered. 

The next day the wind increased in violence, and 
they cruised off the shore looking for the boat. Every 
one on board, including the captain, stern and ruth- 



The Cruise of the Tonquin 269 

less though he was, was very much disturbed at her 
loss. 

On the 24th the weather moderated somewhat, and 
running nearer to the shore, they anchored just out- 
side Cape Disappointment, near the north shore of the 
river mouth. The wind subsiding, Mumford, the sec- 
ond mate, with another boat, was sent to search for the 
passage, but finding the surf still too heavy, he returned 
about noon, after a terrible struggle with the breakers. 

In the afternoon McKay and Stuart offered to take 
a boat and try to get ashore to seek for Fox and the 
missing men. They made the endeavor, but did not 
succeed in passing the breakers, and returned to the 
ship. Later in the afternoon a gentle breeze sprang 
up from the west, blowing into the mouth of the river, 
and Thorn determined to try and cross the bar. He 
weighed anchor, therefore, and bore down under easy 
sail for the entrance of the river. As he came close 
to the breakers he hove to and sent out another boat, 
in charge of Aitkin, a Scottish seaman, accompanied 
by Sailmaker Coles, Armorer Weeks and two Sand- 
wich Islanders. 

The breakers were not quite so rough as they had 
been, and Aitkin proceeded cautiously some distance 
in front of the ship, making soundings and finding no 
depth less than four fathoms. In obedience to his 
signals, the ship came bowling on, and the fitful breeze 
suddenly freshening, she ran through the breakers, 
passing Aitkin's boat to starboard in pistol-shot dis- 
tance. Signals were made for the boat to return, but 
the tide had turned, and the strong ebb, with the cur- 
rent of the river, bore the boat into the breakers in spite 
of all her crew could do. While they were watching the 
boat, over which the waves were seen breaking furiously. 



270 Other Tales of Adventure 

the ship, the wind faiHng, was driven seaward by the 
tide, and struck six or seven times on the bar. The 
breakers, running frightfully high, swept over her decks 
again and again. Nothing could be done for the boat 
by the ship, their own condition being so serious as to 
demand all their efforts. 

Thorn at last extricated the Tonquin from her pre- 
dicament. The wind favored her again, and she got 
over the bar and through the breakers, anchoring at 
niehtfall in seven fathoms of water. The night was 
very dark. The ebb and current threatened to sweep 
the ship on the shore. Both anchors were carried out. 
Still the holding was inadequate and the ship's position 
grew more dangerous. They passed some anxious hours 
until the turn of the tide, when in spite of the fact that 
it was pitch dark, they weighed anchor, made sail, 
and succeeded in finding a safe haven under the lee of 
Cape Disappointment, in a place called Baker's Bay. 
The next day the captain and some of the partners 
landed in the morning to see if they could find the miss- 
ing party. As they were wandering aimlessly upon the 
shore, they came across Weeks, exhausted and almost 
naked. 

He had a sad story to tell. The boat had capsized 
in the breakers and his two white companions had 
been drowned. He and the Kanakas had succeeded 
in righting the boat and clambering into her. By 
some fortunate chance they were tossed outside the 
breakers and into calmer waters. The boat was 
bailed out, and the next morning Weeks sculled her 
ashore with the one remaining oar. One of the 
Sandwich Islanders was so severely injured that he 
died in the boat, and the other was probably dying 
from exposure. The relief party prosecuted their 



The Cruise of the Tonquin 271 

search for the Kanaka and found him the next day 
almost dead. 

The loss of these eight men and these two boats was 
a serious blow to so small an expedition, but there was 
nothing to be done about it, and the work of selecting 
a permanent location for the trading-post on the south 
shore, unloading the cargo, and building the fort was 
rapidly carried on, although fiot without the usual 
quarrels between captain and men. After landing 
the company. Thorn had been directed by Mr. Astor 
to take the Tonquin up the coast to gather a load of 
furs. He was to touch at the settlement which they 
had named Astoria, on his way back, and take on board 
what furs the partners had been able to procure and 
bring them back to New York. Thorn was anxious 
to get away, and on the ist of June, having finished 
the unloading of the ship, and having seen the build- 
ings approaching completion, accompanied by McKay 
as supercargo, and James Lewis of New York, as clerk, 
he started on his trading voyage. 

That was the last that anybody ever saw of Thorn or 
the Tonquin and her men. Several months after her 
departure a Chehalis Indian, named Lamanse, wan- 
dered into Astoria with a terrible story of an appalling 
disaster. The Tonquin made her way up the coast, 
Thorn buying furs as he could. At one of her stops 
at Gray's Harbour, this Indian was engaged as inter- 
preter. About the middle of June, the Tonquin 
entered Nootka Sound, an ocean estuary between 
Nootka and Vancouver Islands, about midway of the 
western shore of the latter. There she anchored before 
a large Nootka Indian village, called Newity. 

The place was even then not unknown to history. 
The Nootkas were a fierce and savage race. A few 



272 Other Tales of Adventure 

years before tine advent of the Tonquin, the American 
ship Boston, Captain Slater, was trading in Nootka 
Sound. The captain had grievously insulted a native 
chieftain. The ship had been surprised, every mem- 
ber of her crew except two murdered, and the ship 
burned. These two had been wounded and captured, 
but when it was learned that one was a gunsmith and 
armorer, their lives were preserved and they had 
been made slaves, escaping long after. 

Everv ship which entered the Sound thereafter did 
so "u-ith tlie full knowledge of the savage and treacherous 
nature of the Indians, and the trading was carried on 
^^"ith the utmost circumspection. There had been no 
violent catastrophes for several years, until another 
ship Boston made further trouble. Her captain had 
shipped twelve Indian hunters, promising to return 
them to tlieir people on Nootka Sound when he was 
finished with them. Instead of bringing them back, 
he marooned them on a barren coast hundreds of miles 
away from their destination. \Mien tliey heard of his 
cruel action, tlie Nootkas swore to be revenged on the 
next ship that entered the Sound. The next ship hap- 
pened to be tlie ill-fated Tonquin. 

Now, no Indians that ever lived could seize a ship like 
the Tonquin if proper precautions were taken bv her 
crew. Air. Astor, knowing the record of the bleak north- 
western shores, had especially cautioned Thorn that con- 
stant watchfulness should be exercised in trading. 
Thorn felt the serenest contempt for the Indians, and 
took no precautions of any sort. Indeed, the demeanor 
of the savages lulled even the suspicions of McKay, who 
had had a wide experience with the aborigines. McKay 
even went ashore at the invitation of one of the chiefs 
and spent the first night of his arri\ al in his lodge. 



The Cruise of the Tonquin 273 

The next day the Indians came aboard to trade. 
They asked exorbitant prices for their skins, and 
conducted themselves in a very obnoxious v^ay. Thorn 
was not a trader; he was a sailor. He offered them 
what he considered a fair price, and if that was not 
satisfactory, why, the vendor could go hang, for all 
he cared. One old chief was especially persistent and 
offensive in his bargaining for a high price. He fol- 
lowed Thorn back and forth on the deck, thrusting 
a roll of skins in front of him, until the irascible captain 
at last lost the little control of his temper he ordinarily 
retained. He suddenly grabbed the skins and shoved 
them — not to say rubbed them — in the face of the 
indignant and astonished Indian. Then he took the 
Indian by the back of the neck and summarily rushed 
him along the deck to the gangway. It is more than 
likely that he assisted him in his progress by kicking 
him overboard. 

The other Indians left the ship immediately. The 
interpreter warned McKay that they would never for- 
give such an insult, and McKay remonstrated with the 
captain. His remonstrances were laughed to scorn, 
as usual. Not a precaution was taken. Ships trading 
in these latitudes usually triced up boarding nettings 
fore and aft to prevent savages from swarming over the 
bulwarks without warning. Thorn refused to order 
these nettings put in position. McKay did not think 
it prudent to go on shore that night. 

Early the next morning a large canoe containing some 
twenty Indians, all unarmed, came off to the ship. 
Each Indian held up a bundle of furs and signified his 
desire to trade. Thorn in great triumph admitted 
them to the ship, the furs were brought on deck, and 
bargaining began. There was no evidence of resent- 



274 Other Tales of Adventure 

ment about any of them. Their demeanor was 
entirely different from what it had been the night before. 
On this occasion the Indians were willing to let the 
white men put any value they pleased on the furs. 

While they were busily buying and selling, another 
party of unarmed Indians made their appearance 
alongside. They were succeeded by a second, a third, 
a fourth, and otliers, all of whom were welcome to the 
ship. Soon the deck was crowded with Indians eager 
to barter. Most of them wanted hunting or butcher 
knives in return, and by tliis means, no one suspecting 
anything, nearly every one of the savages became 
possessed of a formidable weapon for close-quarter 
fighting. McKay and Thorn appeared to have gone 
below temporarily, perhaps to break out more goods 
to exchange for furs, when the Indian interpreter 
became convinced that treachery was intended. Who- 
ever was in charge at the time — perhaps Lewis — 
at the interpreter's instance, sent word to the captain, 
and he McKay came on deck at once. 

The ship was filled with a mob of Indians, whose 
gentle and pleasant aspect had given way to one of 
scowling displeasure and menace. The situation was 
serious. McKay suggested that the ship be got under 
way at once. The captain for the first time agreed 
with him. Orders were given to man the capstan, and 
five of the seamen were sent aloft to loose sail. The 
wind was strong, and happened to be blowing in the 
right direction. With singular fatuity none of the 
ojfficers or seamen were armed, although the ship was 
well provided with weapons. As the cable slowly 
came in through the hawse-pipe, and the loosed sails 
fell from the yards. Thorn, through the interpreter, 
told the Indians that he was about to sail away, and 



The Cruise of the Tonquin 275 

peremptorily directed them to leave the ship. Indeed, 
the movements of the sailors made his intentions plain. 
It was too late. There was a sharp cry — a signal 
— from the chief, and without a moment's hesitation 
the Indians fell upon the unprepared and astonished 
crew. Some of the savages hauled out war-clubs 
and tomahawks which had been concealed in bundles 
of fur; others made use of the knives just purchased. 
Lewis was the first man struck down. He was mor- 
tally wounded, but succeeded in the subsequent con- 
fusion, in gaining the steerage. McKay was seriously 
injured and thrown overboard. In the boats surround- 
ing the ships were a number of women, and they des- 
patched the unfortunate partner with their paddles. 
The captain whipped out a sailor's sheath knife which 
he wore, and made a desperate fight for his life. The 
sailors also drew their knives or caught up belaying- 
pins or handspikes, and laid about them with the energy 
of despair, but to no avail. They were cut down in 
spite of every endeavor. The captain killed several 
of the Indians with his knife, and was the last to fall, 
overborne in the end by numbers. He was hacked 
and stabbed to death on his own deck. 

The five sailors aloft had been terrified and helpless 
witnesses to the massacre beneath them. That they 
must do something for their own lives they now realized. 
Making their way aft by means of the rigging, they 
swung themselves to the deck and dashed for the 
steerage hatch. The attention of the savages had been 
diverted from them by the melee on deck. The five 
men gained the hatch, the last man down. Weeks 
the armorer being stabbed and mortally wounded, 
although he, too, gained the hatch. At this juncture the 
Indian interpreter, who had not been molested, sprang 



276 Other Tales of Adventure 

overboard, and was taken into one of the canoes and 
concealed by the women. His life was spared, and he 
was afterward made a slave, and eventually escaped. 
The four unhurt men who had gained the steerage, 
broke through into the cabin, armed themselves, and 
made their way to the captain's cabin, whence they 
opened fire upon the savages on deck. The Indians 
fled instantly, leaving many of their dead aboard the 
ship. The decks of the Tonquin had been turned 
into shambles. 

The next morning the natives saw a boat with four 
sailors in it pulling away from the ship. They 
cautiously approached the Tonquin thereupon, and 
discovered one man, evidently badly wounded, leaning 
over the rail. When they gained the deck, he was no 
longer visible. No immediate search appears to have 
been made for him, but finding the ship practically 
deserted, a great number of Indians came off in their 
canoes and got aboard. They were making pre- 
parations to search and pillage the ship, when there was 
a terrific explosion, and the ill-fated Tonquin blew up 
with all on board. In her ending she carried sudden 
destruction to over two hundred of the Indians. 

It is surmised that the four unwounded men left on 
the ship realized their inability to carry the Tonquin 
to sea, and determined to take to the boat in the hope 
of reaching Astoria by coasting down the shore. It is 
possible that they may have laid a train to the magazine 
— the Tonquin carried four and a half tons of powder — 
but it is generally believed, as a more probable story, 
on account of the time that elapsed between their depar- 
ture and the blowing up of the ship, that Lewis, who 
was yet alive in spite of his mortal wounds, and who was 
a man of splendid resolution and courage as well, real- 



The Cruise of the Tonquin 277 

izing that he could not escape death, remained on board; 
and when the vessel was crowded with Indians had 
revenged himself for the loss of his comrades by firing 
the magazine and blowing up the ship. Again, it is 
possible that Lewis may have died, and that Weeks, 
the armorer, the other wounded man, made himself 
the instrument of his own and the Indians' destruction. 
To complete the story, the four men who had escaped 
in the boats were pursued, driven ashore, and fell into 
the hands of the implacable Indians. They were tor- 
tured to death. 

Such was the melancholy fate which attended some 
of the participants in the first settlement of what is 
now one of the greatest and most populous sections 
of the Union. 



Part II 
OTHER TALES OF ADVENTURE 

IV 
John Paul Jones 



John Paul Jones 

Being Further Light on His Strange Career* 

ONE hundred and eighteen years ago a little 
man who had attracted the attention of 
two continents, and who, in his com- 
paratively brief career of forty-five years, had won 
eternal fame for himself among the heroes of the 
world, died in Paris, alone in his room. He had 
been ill for some time, and his physician, calling 
late in the evening, found him prone upon his bed, 
sleeping a sleep from which no call to battle would 
ever arouse him. Like Warren Hastings, John Paul 
Jones was at rest at last; "in peace after so many 
storms, in honor after so much obliquy." 

He was buried in a Protestant cemetery in Paris, 
which was officially closed in January, 1793. The 
exact location of his grave there was forgotten. For 
many years even the fact that he was buried there was 
forgotten. The other day the cable flashed a message 
which gladdened every American heart. Under the 
inspiration, and at the personal charges, of General 
Horace Porter, United States Ambassador to France, 

* My reason for including in this volume a paper on this great sailor whose career 
has already been discussed in "Revolutionary Fights and Fighters" (q. v.) is because 
this present article contains a new and original contribution to history, never before 
published in book form, which absolutely and finally settles one phase of the much 
mooted question as to why John Paul assumed the surname Jones, as will be seen 
hereafter. 

281 



282 Other Tales of Adventure 

a search had been instigated and the body was found 
and completely identified. It is a service of sentiment 
that General Porter has rendered us, but not the less 
valuable on that account. To love the hero, to recall 
the heroic past, is good for the future. The remains 
of the great captain came back to the United 
States. On the decks of such a battleship as even his 
genius never dreamed of, surrounded by a squadron 
that could have put to flight all the sea-fighters of the 
v\,^orld before the age of steam and steel, the body of 
the little commodore was brought back to his 
adopted country to repose on the soil of the land he 
loved, for whose liberty he fought, whose honor he 
maintained in battle; and a suitable monument is 
to be raised by our people to commemorate his services, 
to inspire like conduct in years to come. 

Commodore John Paul Jones, the first of the great 
American fighters, and not the least splendid in the 
long line, was born of humble origin in a southern 
county of Scotland. His family was obscure, his 
circumstances narrow, his advantages meagre, his 
opportunities limited. At the age of twelve he became 
a sailor. Genius rose, superior to adverse circum- 
stances, however, and before he died he was one of 
the most accomplished officers who ever served the 
United States. The greatest men of America and 
France took pleasure in his society and were proud of 
his friendship. 

He progressed rapidly in his chosen career. At 
nineteen he was chief mate of a slaver, a legitimate 
occupation in his day but one that filled him with 
disgust. At twenty-one he was captain of a trader. 
In 1773 he came to America, forsook the sea and 
settled in Virginia. 



John Paul Jones 283 



I. The Birth of the American Navy- 
He was still poor and still obscure when on Decem- 
ber 7, 1775, he was appointed a lieutenant in the new 
Continental Navy. In that capacity he was ordered 
to the Alfred y a small converted merchantman, the 
flagship of Commodore Hopkins. He joined the ship 
immediately, and in the latter part of December he 
had the honor of hoisting with his own hands the 
first naval flag of an American squadron. This was 
the famous yellow silk banner with a rattlesnake and 
perhaps a pine tree emblazoned upon it, and with 
the significant legend, ** Don't tread on me!" 

Hopkins made an abortive expedition to New 
Providence, in which Jones had but one opportunity 
to distinguish himself. At the peril of his commission, 
when the regular pilots refused to do so, he volun- 
teered to take the Alfred through a difficult and danger- 
ous channel. Needless to say, he succeeded — he 
always succeeded! 

His first independent command was the little 
schooner Providence, of seventy men and twelve four- 
pound guns. In the Fall of 1775 he made a notable 
cruise in this schooner; he skirmished with, and 
escaped from, by seamanship and daring, two heavy 
frigates, the Solebay and the Milford; in four months 
he captured sixteen vessels, eight of which were sent 
in as prizes, five burned, three returned to certain 
poor fishermen; and he destroyed property aggre- 
gating a million dollars. 

Later, in command of the Alfred, with a short crew 
of one hundred and fifty, when he should have had 
three hundred, he made another brilliant cruise in 



284 Other Tales of Adventure 

which he burned several British transports, captured 
one store-ship, laden to the gunwales with priceless 
munitions of war and supplies, cut out three of the 
supply fleet from under the guns of the Flora frigate, 
and had another smart brush with the Miljord. 

II. Jones First Hoists the Stars and Stripes 

Commissioned captain on the 14th of June, 1777, 
in the same resolution which established an American 
flag, he was ordered to the Raugery a little ship-rigged 
corvette of three hundred tons. In her, on the 4th 
of July of the same year, he hoisted the first stars and 
stripes tliat had ever waved over a ship-of-war. In 
Ouiberon Bay — famous as one of the battle-grounds 
of the world — on the evening of the 14th of February, 
1778, in the Ranger ^ he received the first formal recog- 
nition ever given by a foreign fleet to the United States 
in a salute to the American flag. As it was after sun- 
set when the salutes were exchanged, and in order that 
there should be no mistake about it, the next morning, 
the 15th of February, Jones transferred his flag to the 
Indcpendi-nct\ a small privateer, and deliberately 
sailed through La Motte Picquet's great fleet of tower- 
ing line-of-battle-ships, saluting and receiving salutes 
again. 

Still on the Ranger, on the 24th of April, he fought 
the British sloop-of-war Drake, of equal force and 
larger crew, to a standstill in an hour and five minutes. 
WTien the Drake struck her flag, her rigging, sails and 
spars were cut to pieces. She had torty-two killed 
and wounded — more than one-fifth of her crew — 
and was completely helpless. The Ranger lost two 
killed and six wounded. 



John Paul Jones 285 

In 1779 Jones hoisted his flag on the Due de Duras, 
a condemned East Indiaman, which would have been 
broken up had he not turned her into a makeshift 
frigate by mounting forty guns in her batteries — 
fourteen twelve-pounders, twenty nines and six eigh- 
teens. This, in honor of Franklin, he named the 
Bonhomme Richard. Accompanied by the fine little 
American-built frigate Alliance and the French ship 
Pallas, with the brig Vengeance, and the cutter Cerf, 
he cruised around England, taking several prizes, and 
striking terror all along the shore. 

III. The Battle With the Serapis 

On the evening of the 23rd of September he fell in 
with the Baltic convoy. He was accompanied at the 
time by the Alliance and the Pallas. The Baltic 
convoy was protected by the Serapis and the Scar- 
borough. The Serapis was a brand-new, double- 
banked frigate of eight hundred tons, carrying twenty 
eighteen-pounders, twenty nines and ten sixes. Inas- 
much as the eighteen-pounders on the Richard burst 
and were abandoned after the first fire, the Serapis 
could and did discharge nearly twice as many pounds' 
weight of broadside as the Richard, say three hundred 
pounds to one hundred and seventy-five. The Pallas 
grappled with the Scarborough — a more equal match 
— and Jones attacked the Serapis, which was not 
unwilling — quite the contrary — for the fight. 

The battle was one of the most memorable and 
desperate ever fought upon the ocean. The Richard 
was riddled like a sieve. Her rotten sides were literally 
blown out to starboard and port by the heavy batteries 
of the Serapis. Jones had several hundred EngHsh 



286 Other Tales of Adventure 

prisoners on board. The master-at-arms released 
them, but, with great readiness and presence of mind, 
Jones sent them to the pumps, while he continued to 
light the EngHsh frigate, his own ship kept afloat by 
their efforts. 

Captain Pearson, of the Sera pis, was as brave a 
man as ever drew a sword, but he was no match for 
the indomitable personality o{ the American com- 
mander. After several hours of such lighting as had 
scarcely been seen before on the narrow seas, he struck 
his flag. The Jlliancc-, accompanied bv a jealous and 
incapable Frenchman, had contributed nothing to 
Jones's success. Indeed, she had t^^^;ce poured her 
broadsides into the RicharJ. The American vessel 
was so wrecked below and aloft tliat she sank along- 
side, and Jones had to transfer the survivors of his 
crew to the English frigate. The aggregate o{ the 
two crews was nearlv seven hundred, oi which about 
three hundred and fifty were killed or wounded. 

It is the greatest pity that the poverty o{ America 
did not permit Jones to get to sea in a proper frigate, 
or in a ship ot the line, before the close of the war. 
Af'ter the Revoluuon, in which he had borne so con- 
spicuous a part, so much so that his exploits had 
electrified both continents, he took semce under 
Catherine of Russia, carefully reserving his -^\merican 
citizenship. In her service he fought four brilhant 
actions in the Black Sea, in which he had to contend 
Nvith the usual discouragement of indifferent personnel 
and wretched material, and in which he displayed all 
his old-time qualiries, •^'inning his usual successes, too. 

Worn out in unrequited ser\ice, disgusted with 
Russian court intrigues of which he was the victim, 
resentf'ul of the infamous Potemkin's brutal attempts 




Commander Paul Jones Capturing the " Serapis. 

From the picture by Chappel 



John Paul Jones 287 

at coercion, he asked leave of absence from Catherine's 
service and went to Paris, where, in the companion- 
ship of his friends, and in the society of the beautiful 
Aimee de Telison, the one woman he loved, he lived 
two years and died at the age of forty-five. 

IV. A Hero's Famous Sayings 

Besides the memory of his battles, Paul Jones left 
a collection of immortal sayings, which are the heritage 
of the American Navy and the admiration of brave 
men the world over. When the monument which is 
to be erected shall be ready for inscriptions, these may 
with propriety be carved upon it: 

"/ do not wish to have command of any ship that does 
not sail fasty for I intend to go in harm's way!" Brave 
little captain, 

"/ have ever looked out for the honor of the American 
flag!" It is the truth itself. 

"/ can never renounce the glorious title of a citizen 
of the United States!" The title was one which Paul 
Jones signally honored. 

Last, but not least, that curt phrase which comes 
ringing through the centuries like a trumpet call to 
battle; the words with which he replied to the demand 
of the astonished Pearson, who saw his enemy's ship 
beaten to a pulp, and wondered why he did not yield: 

"/ have not yet begun to fight!" 

That was the finest phrase, under the circumstances, 
that ever came from the lips of an American sailor. " It 
was no new message. The British had heard it as they 
tramped again and again up the bullet-swept slopes 
of Bunker Hill; Washington rang it in the ears of 
the Hessians on the snowy Christmas morning at 



288 Other Tales of Adventure 

Trenton; the hoof-beats of Arnold's horse kept time 
to it in the wild charge at Saratoga; it cracked \^'ith 
the whip of the old wagoner Morgan at the Cowpens; 
the Maryland troops drove it home in the hearts of 
their enemies with Greene at Guilford Court House; 
and the drums of France and America beat it into 
Cornwallis's ears when the end came at Yorkto\%Ti. 
There, that night, in that darkness, in that still moment 
of battle, Paul Jones declared the determination of a 
great people. His was the expression of an inspira- 
tion on the part of a new nation. From this man came 
a statement of our unshakeable determination, at 
whatever cost, to be free! A new Declaration of 
Independence, this famous word of warning to the 
brave sailor ot the British king-." 

V. What Jones Did for His Country 

Never in his long career did Jones have a decent 
ship or a respectable crew. His materials were alwavs 
of the ver>^ poorest. His officers, with the exception 
of Richard Dale, were but little to boast of. What 
he accomplished, he accomplished by the exercise of 
his own indomitable will, his serene courage, his match- 
less skill as a sailor, and his devotion to the cause he 
had espoused. After his death, among his papers,, the 
following little memorandum, written in his own hand, 
was found: 

"In 1775, T- Paul Jones armed and embarked in the 
first American ship of war. In the Revolution he had 
twenrv-three battles and solemn rcncontrcs bv sea; 
made seven descents in Britain, and her colonies; took of 
her navv two ships o{ equal, and two of superior force, 
many store-ships, and others; constrained her to 



John Paul Jones 289 

fortify her ports; suffer the Irish Volunteers; desist 
from her cruel burnings in America and exchange, as 
prisoners of war, the American citizens taken on the 
ocean, and cast into prisons of England, as 'traitors, 
pirates, and felons!'" 

Indeed a truthful and a brilliant record. 

Paul Jones was accused of being a pirate. The 
charge was a long time dying, but it is to-day generally 
disavowed. When recently his bones were returned to 
American shores, may we not believe that from some 
Valhalla of the heroes, where the mighty men of the 
past mingle in peace and amity, he saw and took 
pride in the great if tardy outpouring of our fellow 
citizens to greet this first sea-king of our flag .? 

Now, this story of the magnificent career of John 
Paul Jones, so briefly summarized, has been often 
told, and its details are familiar to every schoolboy. 
There is one mystery connected with his life, however, 
which has not yet been solved. I purpose to make 
here an original contribution toward its solution. No 
one knows positively — it is probable that no one ever 
will know, why John Paul assumed the name of Jones. 
Of course the question is not vital to Jones's fame, for 
from whatever reason he assumed the name by which 
he is remembered, he certainly honored it most 
signally; but the reason for the assumption is never- 
theless of deep interest to all lovers of history. There 
have been two explanations of this action. 

VI. Why Did He Take the Name of Jones ? 

Five years ago two biographies of Jones appeared 
simultaneously. One I had the honor of writing 
myself. The other was from the pen of that gifted 



290 Other Tales of Adventure 

and able author, the late Colonel Augustus C. Buell. 
Our accounts were in singular agreement, save in one 
or two points, and our conclusions as to the character 
of Jones in absolute harmony. In Colonel Buell's 
book he put forth the theory — which, so far as I 
know, had not before been formulated — that John Paul 
assumed the name of Jones in testamentary succession 
to his brother William Paul, who had preceded him to 
America; and that William Paul had himself taken 
the name in testamentary succession to one William 
Jones, a childless old planter of Middlesex County, 
Virginia, who bequeathed to the said William Paul 
an extensive plantation on the Rappahannock, some 
nine miles below Urbana, at a place called Jones's 
Wharf, on condition that he call himself Jones. In 
1805 this Jones property was owned by members of 
the Taliaferro family, who had received it from Archi- 
bald Frazier, who claimed to have received it from 
John Paul Jones, although there are no records of 
transfer extant. 

My theory, which Colonel Buell facetiously charac- 
terized — doubtless in all good humor — as "Tar-heel 
mythology," stated that John Paul assumed the name 
of Jones out of friendship and regard for the justly 
celebrated Jones family of North Carolina, and espe- 
cially for Mrs. Willie Jones, who is not unknown in 
history, and who was one of the most brilliant and 
charming women of the colonies. Members of this 
family had befriended him and assisted him pecuniarily, 
and had extended to him the bounteous hospitality 
of the famous plantations. Mount Gallant and The 
Groves, near Halifax. It was through their influence 
with Congressman Hewes that Jones received his 
commission as a lieutenant in the Continental Navy. 



John Paul Jones 291 

In further explanation it was suggested that on cast- 
ing his lot with the rebellious colonies John Paul, who 
was somewhat erratic as well as romantic and impulsive, 
determined to take a new name and begin life over 
again. 

Here are two utterly irreconcilable theories. I at 
once wrote to Colonel Buell asking him to inform me 
what was his authority for his statement. I quote, 
with his permission given me before his lamented 
death, from several letters that he wrote me: 

** My first authentic information on the subject v/as 
from a gentleman named WilHam Louden, whom I met 
in St. Louis in 1873, when I was attached to the Missouri 
Republican. Mr. Louden was a great-grandson of 
Mary Paul Louden, sister of John Paul Jones. He 
was the only surviving blood-relative of Paul Jones 
in this country, being his great-grandnephew. He told 
me substantially the history of the change of names as 
related in my first volume. 

"Two years later I met the late General TaHaferro 
of Virginia in Washington, and he corroborated the 
version, together with the history of the Jones 
plantation.* 

"One would naturally judge that the great-grand- 
nephew of the man himself, and the gentleman who 
had subsequently owned the property, ought to know 
something about the antecedents of both the man and 
the land. ... I doubt whether documentary 
evidence — such as would be admitted in court — can 
ever be found." 

Colonel Buell also called my attention to the fact 

*0£ which he (General Taliaferro) had become the owner. 



292 Other Tales of Adventure 

that in none of Paul Jones's letters to Joseph Hewes 
is there any reference to the North Carolina Jones 
family; and further, that Jones and Hewes became 
acquainted in commerical transactions before Jones 
settled in America. 

VIL Search for Historical Evidence 

In an attempt to settle the matter I wrote to all the 
Virginia county clerks on both sides of the Rappa- 
hannock River, asking them if anv copy of the will of 
William Paul, or that of William Paul Jones, could be 
found in their records. Most of these Virginia county 
records were destroyed during the Civil War. By 
great good fortune, however, those of Spottsylvania 
Count)', in which the city of Fredericksburg is 
situated, were preserved, and I herewith append a 
copy of the will of William Paul, in which he 
bequeathes his property, making no mention of any 
plantation and no mention of the name of WilHam 
Jones, to his sister, Mary Young, who afterward 
married Louden. 

"In the name of God, Amen; I, William Paul, 
of the town of Fredericksburg and County of 
Spottsylvania in Virginia — being in perfect sound 
memorv% thanks be to Almighty God, and knowing it 
is appointed unto all men to die, do make and ordain 
this my last Will and Testament in manner and 
form revoking all former will or wills by me herebe- 
tore made. 

*' Principally and first of all, I recommend my soul to 
Almighty God who gave it, hoping through the merits 
of my blessed Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ to 
find Redemption, and as to touching and concerning 



John Paul Jones 293 

what worldly estate it has pleased God to bless me with, 
I dispose of it in the following manner: 

*' Item — It is my will and desire that all my just debts 
and funeral expenses be first paid by my Executors 
hereafter named, who are desired to bury my body in a 
decent, Christian-like manner. 

"Item — It is my will and desire that my Lots and 
Houses in this Town be sold and converted into money 
for as much as they will bring, that with all my other 
estate being sold and what of my out-standing debts 
that can be collected, I give and bequeath unto my 
beloved sister Mary Young, and her two eldest children 
and their heirs in Arbiglon in Parish of Kirkbeen in 
Stewartry of Galloway, North Brittain, forever. I 
do hereby empower my Executors to sell and convey 
the said land, lots and houses and make a fee simple 
therein, as I could or might do in my proper person, 
and I do appoint my friends Mr. William Templeman 
and Isaac Heislop my Executors to see this my will 
executed, confirming this to be my last will and testa- 
ment. In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my 
hand and fixed my seal as my last act and deed this 
22nd day of March, 1772. 

"William Paul (Seal)." 

"WilHam Paul having heard the above will dis- 
tinctly read, declared the same to be his last will and 
testament in the presence of us: 

''John Atkinson, 
"Thomas Holmes, 
"B. Johnston." 

William Paul evidently died in 1774, instead of 
1773, as all the biographers of his famous brother 



294 Other Tales of Adventure 

have it, and the will was accordingly probated, as will 
be seen from the following transcript of the court 
records : 

"At a Court continued and held for Spottsylvania 
County, December the i6th, 1774. 

"The Last Will and Testament of William Paul, 
deceased, was proved by the oaths of John Atkinson, 
a witness thereto, and ordered to be certified, and the 
Executors therein named refusing to take upon them- 
selves the burden of the execution thereof, on the 
motion of John Atkinson who made oath and together 
with John Walker, Jr., his security, entered into 
and acknowledged their bond in the Penalty of Five 
hundred Pounds as the law directs. Certificate is 
granted him for obtaining letter of administration on 
the said decedent's estate with his will aforesaid 
annexed in due form." 

In further support of these facts, the grave of William 
Paul was recently discovered in St. George's church- 
yard, Fredericksburg, and his tombstone bears the 
date of 1774. This effectually disposes of Colonel 
Buell's contention. For whatever reason John Paul 
assumed the name of Jones it was not in testamentary 
succession to William Paul; for William Paul kept his 
inherited surname to the last. 

It occurred to me that John Paul might have been 
empowered to represent his sister in the settlement of 
his brother's estate. A power-of-attorney which would 
have enabled him to attend to her affairs would not 
necessarily have been registered in the Scottish or 
American courts; yet, knowing the methodical habit 
of the Scottish bar, I caused search to be made in the 



John Paul Jones 295 

private papers and records of those local advocates who 
might possibly have handled the business in Scotland; 
but with no results so far. 

I also had search made for any conveyance of the 
property mentioned in the will by William Paul's 
administrators. I append a copy of a letter from Mr. 
J. P. H. Crismund, a county clerk of Spottsylvania 
County. 

"Spottsylvania, Va., June 7, 1901. 

" I have made the matter of John Paul Jones and 
William Paul and William Jones a matter of most 
careful study and search, but have not been able to find 
anything beyond the last will and testament of William 
Paul, a copy of which I send you. My first search was 
made to find the conveyance from William Paul's 
administration, with will annexed, conveying the houses 
and lots in Fredericksburg which are directed in 
William Paul's will to be sold, but the records nowhere 
show this. This seems and is strange, because some 
disposition must have been made of this property in 
some way, but I cannot find this here. I then followed 
the fiduciary indexes to see if I could find anything 
about the enlistment and service of John Paul to John 
Paul Jones — but this also was fruitless. William 
Paul could not have assumed the name of Jones, as he 
leaves his last will and testament in the name of Paul, 
nor is there any will of record in the name of Paul, nor 
is there any will of record in the name of John Paul 
Jones. I have given this matter such thought and 
attention and work, but I cannot find a clue to any- 
thing named in your letter to me and .concerning which 
you make inquiry. 

"As William Paul's property was in Fredericksburg, 
it may be that the settlement of his estate and the 



296 Other Tales of Adventure 

account of the sale of his effects is of record there. If 
you desire to write to the clerk of corporation court 
of that city as to that, he will courteously attend to your 
matter of inquiry. 

"Yours sincerely, 

"J. P. H. Crismund." 

I wrote as Mr. Crismund suggested, but could get 
no further information. 

VIII. The Joneses of North Carolina 

Now to revert to the North Carolina account. It 
comes down as straight as such a story could. Colonel 
Cadwallader Jones of North Carolina, in a privately 
printed genealogical history of his family, states that 
he was born in 1812. His grandmother, Mrs. Willie 
Jones, died in 1828. He lived with her for the first 
fifteen years of his life. He declares positively that 
she told him that John Paul had taken the name for 
the reasons mentioned. The matter was generally so 
stated and accepted in the family. Mrs. Willie Jones 
was a woman of unusual mental force and character, 
and preserved the full use of her faculties until her 
death. 

The samie statement is made independently by 
descendants of other branches of the Jones family. 
For instance, Mr. Armistead Churchill Gordon, of 
Staunton, Va., had it direct from his great-aunt, who 
was a kinswoman of Mrs. Jones, and who heard from 
her the circumstances referred to. And there are 
still other lines of tradition which create a strong 
probability in favor of the credibility of the theory. 

For one thing, if Jones did represent his sister in the 



John Paul Jones 297 

settlement of his brother's estate, it is probable that he 
would have to give bond for the proper performance 
of his trust, and it is sometimes stated that Willie and 
Allen Jones went on his bond for five hundred pounds 
— just the sum required of the Executors, by the way. 
It is also singular, in view of this will leaving property 
to his grandmother, that the Louden whom Mr. Buell 
knew — and who is said to have died in New Orleans 
in 1887 — should have been so mistaken in his state- 
ments; but on this point the evidence of the will is 
absolutely conclusive. 

IX. Paul Jones Never a Man of Wealth 

Colonel Buell claims that John Paul Jones had 
riches and influence in Virginia after the death of his 
brother, but the claim is not tenable according to an 
exhaustive review of his book in the Firginia Historical 
Magazine. In the face of the present exhibit, and in 
the view of the fact that Jones himself spoke of living 
for two years in Virginia on fifty pounds, the story of 
his wealth cannot be credited. It is therefore entirely 
in harmony with the facts to accept the North Carolina 
tradition, in the absence of any evidence to the con- 
trary. The direct statement coming to us in one 
instance through but one generation is entitled to 
respect. As a matter of fact both Colonel Buell's 
version of the matter and my own story rest upon 
tradition alone, with this difference — the evidence 
submitted absolutely excluded one of the accounts; 
the other, therefore, logically comes to the fore. 

And thus, I think, I have contributed to clear up one 
mooted point in American history. 



Part II 
OTHER TALES OF ADVENTURE 

V 
In the Caverns of the Pitt 



In the Caverns of the Pitt 

A Story of a Forgotten Fight with the Indians 

ONE of the most distinguished of the minor 
soldiers of the Civil War, minor in the 
sense of being surpassed only by men 
of the stature of Grant, Sherman, Sheridan and 
Thomas, was George Crook. His exploits in the 
valley of the Shenandoah were brilliant, and 
his whole career was replete with instances of 
ability and courage which stamped him as a soldier 
of the first grade. A major-general of volunteers and 
a brevet major-general in the regular army, the year 
1868 found him a colonel of infantry commanding the 
military district of Owyhee, a section of the country 
which included the southeastern part of Oregon and 
the northeastern part of California. 

In the adaptation of means to ends, so far as Indian 
affairs are concerned, the United States has usually 
been woefully lacking. With a few companies of 
cavalry and infantry not aggregating a full regiment, 
this eminent soldier was directed to hold the various 
scattered garrison points throughout a large extent 
of territory, and also to settle the Indians, who for some 
time had been indulging their propensities for savage 
slaughter almost unchecked, save for a few sporadic 
and ineffective efforts by volunteers and irregulars. 

The far western representatives of the great Sho- 

301 



302 Other Tales of Adventure 

shone nation are among the meanest, most degraded, 
most despicable Indians on the continent. This did 
not hinder them from beino- amono- the most brutal 
and ferocious. They made the tenure of life and 
property more than precarious in that far-off section 
during and after the Civil War. They were not very 
numerous, nor were they a great race of fighters, except 
when cornered. The character of the country to the 
east^vard of their ravaging ground, abounding in lava 
beds, desolate plains, inaccessible valleys and impassable 
mountain ranges, to which they could fly when they 
were hard pressed, rendered it difficult to bring any con- 
siderable number of them to action, and they enjoyed 
a certain immunity from punishment on that account. 

The most important engagement between them and 
the troops, before the patience and perseverance of 
Crook and his handful, finally wore out the Indians, 
presents, perhaps, the one instance where they were 
brought fairly to bay and the soldiers had an oppor- 
tunity to give them a thorough beating. This unique 
battle demonstrated also how desperately even a 
coward will fight when his back is against a wall. 
And it showed, as few other frontier fights have shown, 
the splendid courage of the regular American soldier 
in this arduous, unheeded service. 

Early on the 26th of September, 1868, General 
Crook, with a small troop of cavalry, H of the First, 
numbering less than thirty men, together with about 
a score of mounted infantrymen from the Twenty- 
third Regiment, and perhaps as many Warm Spring 
Indian scouts under a leader named Donald Mac- 
intosh, with a small pack train, found himself on the 
south fork of Pitt River, in Modoc County, Cal., a few 
miles below its junction with the main stream. The 



In the Caverns of the Pitt 303 

country is wild, unsettled, largely unexplored to this 
day. There is no railroad even now nearer than one 
hundred and twenty-five miles. General Crook had 
been hunting and trailing Indians in the Warmer 
Mountains without success for several days. On this 
morning the Warm Spring Indian scouts reported 
that a large body of Indians was encamped in the 
valley upon which he was just entering. 

The general direction of the river here was due north 
and south. Perhaps a mile from the bank of the river 
to the west, rose a high tableland which terminated 
in precipitous and generally insurmountable bluffs 
of black basalt, extending above the general level of 
the valley about twelve hundred feet. Projecting 
eastward from the side of these lofty cliffs was a singular 
rocky plateau, the outer lines of which roughly formed 
a half circle. This elevation was bordered on the 
south by a deep and broken canon, on the north by a 
creek which ran through a forest of scattered juniper 
trees. The plateau rose in two gentle slopes to a 
height of about five or six hundred feet above the 
valley level, and was thus half as high as the bluff to 
the westward, which formed the base of the semi- 
circle. Near the northern part of the plateau the 
rocks were elevated in a series of irregular broken 
peaks, like the jagged ice hummocks of the higher 
latitudes. The whole plateau was covered with 
enormous boulders, over which it was impossible even 
to lead a horse. On the lower reaches plots of grass, 
dotted with junipers, abounded. The valley of the 
river proper below the cliffs and the projecting plateau 
was a good place for a camp, although the ground 
near the banks was swampy and impassable. 

The peaks mentioned, it was afterward learned, 



304 Other Tales of Adventure 

abounded with hidden caves and underground passages. 
By some curious freak of nature, the volcanic hum- 
mocks contained no less than four natural fortifications 
of varying sizes, which, supplemented by very slight 
efforts on the part of the Indians, had been turned into 
defensive works of the most formidable character. 

They were connected by a perfect labyrinth of cre- 
vasses and underground passages and caves, so that 
the defenders could easily pass from one to the other. 
The northeast fort, which was the principal one of 
the chain, was surrounded by a natural gorge some 
fifty feet deep and twenty-five feet wide at the top. A 
sort of banquette, or balcony, making a practicable 
path several feet wide, extended around the fort 
between the wall and the edge of the ravine. The 
fort proper was enclosed by a wall of rock, partly 
natural, partly artificial, about eight feet high. An 
assailant crossing the ravine and gaining the crest of 
the peak would have ample standing ground between 
the edge and the wall. The broken ground around 
these forts on the plateau formed a series of natural 
rifle pits. 

These works were held by no less than one hundred 
and twenty Shoshones belonging to the Piutes, Pitt 
Rivers, Modocs and Snakes. Their chief was 
Sa-hei-ta, one of the bravest and most brutal of the 
marauders. When they saw Crook's little force of 
fifty white soldiers and a score of Warm Spring Indians 
descending the bluff into the valley south of the rocky 
canon, they laughed them to scorn. They were con- 
fident in the strength of their position and in their 
numbers, and they resolved to hold their ground. 
Indeed, after the first few moments there was nothing 
else for them to do, for Crook distributed his cavalry 



In the Caverns of the Pitt 305 

and infantry around the northern and southern sides, 
put his pack mules in camp in the valley on the east 
with a small guard, and threw the Warm Spring Indian 
scouts back of the forts between them and the cliffs. 
Thus he had the Indians surrounded, so far as seventy 
men could surround nearly twice their number in 
chosen fortifications. The whole place was popularly 
known as the Hell Caves of the Pitt River, although 
in the War Department and official records it is 
described more politely as the Infernal Caverns of 
the Pitt River. 

Getting his men in position. Crook acted promptly. 
In long thin lines on the north and south, taking advan- 
tage of the abundant cover, the soldiers cautiously 
advanced, clearing out the rifle pits and driving the 
Indians back toward their stronghold. There was 
severe fighting all during the afternoon, in which 
First Sergeant Charles Brackett and Private James 
Lyons were killed and a number were wounded. The 
Warm Spring Indians, who were good scouts, did not 
fancy this sort of warfare, and they took practically 
no part in the battle. They were useful enough in 
one way, as they checked any retreat toward the bluffs, 
although as it turned out the Indians had no intention 
of leaving. 

Finally, toward evening, the plateau was entirely 
cleared of Indians, who had all been forced back into 
the forts. Crook had sent a picket of soldiers to the 
edge of the basalt cliffs and these men, with long-range 
rifles, did some little execution on the defenders of the 
forts, although the distance was so great that their 
fire was largely ineffectual. Night found the soldiers 
ensconced behind boulders on the very rim of the 
ravine, the Indians in the forts. In little squads the 



3o6 Other Tales of Adventure 

soldiers were withdrawn from the battlefield and sent 
down to the camp in the valley to get something to eat. 
They had been without food or water since morning, 
and fighting is about the hottest, thirstiest work that 
a man can engage in. After they had refreshed them- 
selves, they went back to the plateau to keep watch 
over the fort. Desultory firing took place all night 
long, the Indians blazing away indiscriminately — 
they had plenty of ammunition, it appeared — and 
the soldiers firing at the flashes of the guns. The 
voices of the medicine men and the chiefs could be 
heard exhorting them and promising victory. 

Crook determined to storm the place at break of 
day. The darkness rendered it impossible to attempt 
the broken, precipitous descent and ascent of the 
ravine in the night. Light was needed for that. He 
had fought valiantly throughout the day, this major- 
general, as a common soldier in the ranks. He was 
a dead shot, and had used his Spencer carbine with 
effect whenever opportunity presented. He could 
assemble for the assault but forty men, twenty-two 
of the First Cavalry and eighteen of the Twenty-third 
Infantry. The Warm Spring auxiliaries refused to 
assault, such close work not being to their taste. There 
were several wounded men in the camp, and a small 
guard had to be kept there to protect them and the 
horses from the attacks of some of the Indians who 
had taken advantage of the night to escape from the 
stronghold to endeavor to stampede the herd, and 
who from various covers kept up a constant fire on the 
camp, so that Lieutenant Eskridge, quartermaster, had 
his hands full in holding his ground. 

First Lieutenant W. R. Parnell, now of San Fran- 
cisco, who commanded the cavalry, was directed to 



In the Caverns of the Pitt 307 

lead the assault. Second Lieutenant John Madigan, 
also of the cavalry, who had charge of the infantry, 
was ordered to support. The troops were directed to 
creep to the brink of the crevasses surrounding the 
fort and drop down it as quickly as possible. Arrived 
at the bottom, they were to scale the rocky counter- 
scarp, and when they got to the platform they were to 
keep moving while they attempted to break the wall 
of the fort proper. Crook, who believed in intimida- 
tion, advised them to yell and cheer as much as possible. 
The general crawled around during the night from 
man to man, acquainting every soldier with his ideas 
and ''talking to them as a father.'' He reminds me a 
little of Henry V. before the battle of Agincourt. 

The task he had set his soldiers was desperate in the 
extreme. It speaks well not only for the general's 
reliance upon them, but for the quality of the men also, 
that he conceived it possible and that they carried it 
out effectively. So soon as it was fairly dawn the 
soldiers at a given signal dashed at the crest. So 
suddenly did they appear that, although the Indians 
in the fort across the ravine opened a terrific rifle and 
arrow fire upon them, not one was injured. Without 
a moment's hesitation, the men plunged down the walls, 
and sliding, falling, any way, they reached the bottom. 
There they were safe from the fire of the Indians, for 
the platform around the wall of the fort prevented the 
Indians from shooting into the ravine. 

Parnell's company immediately began the escalade 
of the cliffs. Madigan had not been so fortunate. 
Where he struck the ravine the wall happened to be 
absolutely sheer. Descent was not practicable. His 
men therefore stopped on the brink until he directed 
his infantrymen to circle the ravine until they found a 



3o8 Other Tales of Adventure 

practicable descent and there join Parneirs men. He 
had scarcely given the order when a bullet pierced his 
brain. Some of his men were also struck down, others 
retired behind the rocks, made a detour and followed 
Parnell. 

The sides of the ravine were so precipitous that no 
man could scale them unaided. Two or three would 
lift up a fellow-soldier. After gaining a foothold he 
in turn would pull others up, and thus they slowly 
made their way to the edge of the cliffs. Crook climb- 
ing with the rest. They finally gained the banquette, or 
platform, after a difficult and exhausting climb. The 
Indians were behind the walls of the fort, the soldiers 
outside. Sergeant Michael Meara, leading the 
advance, peeped through a loop-hole, and was shot 
dead. Private Willoughby Sawyer, happening to pass 
by another orifice, was killed in the same way. In 
both cases the Indians were so close that the faces of 
both men were badly powder burned. A slug struck 
the wrist and an arrow pierced the body of Private 
Shea, hurling him to the bottom of the ravine. 

But the soldiers were not idle. Guns from each 
side were thrust through every loophole or crevice and 
discharged blindly. In this desperate method of 
fighting, the Indians, being contracted within the 
circle, suffered the more. While some were fighting 
thus, others were tearing down the rocky wall with 
hands and bayonets. A breach was soon made, and 
through it the soldiers streamed. The Indians, after 
one hasty volley, fled precipitately. The last man to 
leave the fort was the chief, Sa-hei-ta. As he leaped 
over the wall Crook's unerring Spencer sent a bullet 
into his spine, and he fell dead at the bottom of the 
ravine. The fort had been defended by at least fifty 



In the Caverns of the Pitt 309 

Indians, and there were fifteen dead bodies in it. 
Among these was that of the chief medicine man. 

The soldiers ran to the western wall, and through 
loopholes opened a fire upon the Indians, who had 
joined their fellows in the other forts. The fire was 
fiercely returned. About nine in the morning one of 
the infantrymen, peering through a small crevice in the 
rock, found his view obstructed by a small weed. In 
spite of Parnell's caution, he uprooted it, leaving quite 
an opening, in which he was completely exposed. 
He was shot through the head instantly and fell 
unconscious.* 

The wounded, of which there were a number, were 
now taken to the camp about 1 1 a. m. The fire of the 
Indians having slackened, Crook, leaving a detach- 
ment in the fort, withdrew the rest of the men to the 
camp for breakfast. The Indians took advantage of 
this opportunity to charge the fort. The few defen- 
ders were driven out of the fortification and Sergeant 
Russler was killed, the third sergeant to lose his life 
that day! Rallying on the banquette, upon the return 
of the others, they in turn drove the Indians out of the 
fort. Neither party could occupy it all day long. 
The soldiers clung to the platform covering their dead 
in the fort on one side, while the Indians from the 
forts on the other side prevented the soldiers from 
re-entering. 

It was not until nightfall that the dead could be 
withdrawn. The soldiers re-occupied the fort at night, 
and although the Indians sent frequent volleys of 
arrows, which they shot into the air, hoping they would 

* He lived three weeks without regaining his senses, and eventually died at Camp 
Warner, Ore., over one hundred and fifty miles away, whither he was carried with 
the other wounded, after the battle. 



3IO Other Tales of Adventure 

fall upon the soldiers, and kept up an irregular fire, 
culminating in a sustained discharge about midnight, 
they made no attempt seriously to take the fort, 
although the soldiers, confidently expecting an attack, 
lay on their arms all night. During the last half of 
it not a sound came from the Indians. 

The next morning Crook prepared to resume the 
attack by assaulting the other forts, when his sus- 
picions were awakened by a strange quiet, which con- 
tinued in spite of several efforts to draw the Indian fire. 
Fearing some stratagem, he delayed until he could have 
speech with the interior forts by means of a wounded 
Indian squaw, whom they captured after cautious 
scouting. From this woman, whom they forced to 
speak by threatening to hang her, it was learned that 
the Indians had decamped during the night. The 
warriors had taken advantage of a long underground 
passage which led south and opened in a cave in the 
side of the canon. This concealed way actually took 
them under the feet of Crook's soldiers, and sufficiently 
far from his camp and scouts to enable them, so quietly 
had they moved, to steal away undetected. They 
left their women and children in the caves. These 
caves were a perfect maze. To attempt to search 
them would have been impossible. Indeed, one 
soldier. Private James Carey, who saw the body of a 
dead Indian near the mouth of one of them, and who 
sought a scalp as a trophy, descended to the cave 
mouth and was shot dead by some one, probably a 
wounded brave, within the dark recesses. 

The Indians' loss was about forty killed. Crook 
had lost nearly a moiety — 50 per cent. — of his entire 
force, an appalling proportion! One officer, six 
soldiers, one civilian had been killed, twelve soldiers. 



In the Caverns of the Pitt 311 

including three corporals,* seriously wounded, two 
of them afterward died; and almost every survivor in 
the party had received some slight wound or had been 
badly bruised by falls in climbing over the broken rocks. 
Their clothing and shoes were cut to pieces, they were 
utterly worn out by two sleepless nights and two days' 
desperate fighting. They buried the brave soldiers in 
the valley, concealing their graves so that the Indians 
could not discover them and ravage them. Carrying 
their wounded in rude travois slung between horses and 
mules,and taking thebody of brave young Madigan, who 
was buried in a lonely forgotten grave, one day's march 
from the battlefield, they returned to Camp Warner. 

With a greatly inferior force Crook had assailed the 
Indians on ground of their own choosing, which they 
believed to be impregnable, and had administered 
a crushing defeat. The escalade of the wall of the 
ravine, the breaching of the rampart, the storming 
of the fort, its defence, its abandonment and recapture, 
was one of the most gallant and heroic exploits ever 
performed in American history. Although he had 
paid dearly for his victory, the lesson Crook had 
inflicted upon the savages was a salutary one, and the 
disastrous defeat of the Indians in the Infernal Caverns 
of the Pitt River was a great factor in bringing about 
the subsequent pacification of that section. 

To-day the exploit is forgotten. All the officers, save 
one, and I presume most of the men, who participated, 
are dead. It is from the papers of the surviving officer. 
Colonel Parnell, and from official reports and a few mea- 
gre published accounts in newspapers and books that 
this story of American heroism has been prepared. 

*The loss among non-commissioned officers was especially heavy, showing how 
well these brave men did their duty. 



Part II 
OTHER TALES OF ADVENTURE 

VI 
Being a Boy Out West 



Being a Boy Out West 

I AM in some doubt as to whether to call this 
particular reminiscence "Pants That I Have 
Worn" or "Trousers Like Those Mother Used 
to Make." For either name seems admirably suitable 
to the situation. 

I was the oldest son in a numerous family, and 
therefore had the heritage of my father's clothes. He 
was an exceedingly neat and careful man, and never — 
to my sorrow be it said — did he ever wear out any- 
thing, unless it were an apple switch on me or my 
brothers. I had to wear out all his old clothes, it 
seemed to me. It was not a matter of choice but of 
necessity with me. My younger brother always 
escaped. By the time I had finished anything, there 
was no more of it. It went perforce to the ragman, 
if he would condescend to accept it. 

There was a certain sad, plum-colored, shad- 
bellied coat that flashes athwart my memory in hideous 
recollection, which wrapped itself portentiously about 
my slim figure, to the great delectation of my young 
friends and companions, and to my corresponding 
misery. I can recall their satirical criticisms vividly 
even now. They enjoyed it hugely, especially the 
little girls. Think of a small — say "skinny" — little 
boy, about nine or ten years old, in a purple shad- 
bellied coat which had been made to fit ( .?) him by 
cutting off the sleeves, also the voluminous tails just 
below the back buttons! 

315 



3i6 Other Tales of Adventure 

I could never understand the peculiar taste my father 
manifested in his younger days, for when I recall the 
age which permitted me to wear cut-down clothing 
(and that age arrived at an extraordinary early period 
in my existence, it appeared to me), such a fearful 
and wonderful assortment of miscellaneous garments 
of all colors, shapes and sizes as were resurrected 
from the old chests in the garret, where they had 
reposed in peaceful neglect for half a generation, the 
Uninitiated can scarcely believe. 

The shad-bellied coat was bad enough — you could 
take that off, though — but there was something 
worse that stayed on. Fortunately there is one season 
in the year when coats in the small Western village, 
in which I lived, were at a discount, especially on small 
boys, and that was summer. But on the warmest of sum- 
mer days the most recklessly audacious youngster has to 
wear trousers even in the most sequestered village. 

One pair rises before me among the images of many 
and will not down. The fabric of which this particular 
garment was made was colored a light cream, not to 
say yellow. There was a black stripe, a piece of round 
black braid down each leg, too, and the garment was 
as heavy as broadcloth and as stiff as a board. Nothing 
could have been more unsuitable for a boy to wear 
than that was. I rebelled and protested \\4th all the 
strength of my infantile nature, but it was needs must — 
I had either to wear them or to remain in bed 
indefinitely. Swallowing my pride, in spite of my 
mortification, I put them on and sallied forth, but 
little consoled by the approving words and glances of 
my mother, who took what I childishly believed to be 
an utterly unwarranted pride in her — shall I say — 
adaptation or reduction .? Those trousers had a senti- 



Being a Boy Out West 317 

mental value for her, too, as I was to learn later. As 
for me, I fairly loathed them. 

Many times since then, I have been the possessor 
of a "best and only pair," but never a pair of such 
color, quality and shape. They were originally 
of the wide-seated, peg-top variety, quite like the 
fashion of to-day, by the way — or is it yesterday, 
in these times of sudden changes .? — and when they 
were cut off square at the knee and shirred or gathered 
or reefed in at the waist, they looked singularly like 
the typical "Dutchman's breeches." I might have 
worn them as one of Hendrik Hudson's crew in " Rip 
Van Winkle" — which was, even in those days, the 
most popular play in which Joseph Jefferson appeared. 
You can see how long ago it was from that. 

Well, I put them on in bitterness of heart. How 
the other boys greeted me until they got used to them — 
which it seemed to me they never would! Unfortun- 
ately for them, anyway, they had only one day, one 
brief day, in which to make game of me; for the first 
time I wore them something happened. 

There was a pond on a farm near our house called, 
from its owner, "Duffy's Pond." The water drained 
into a shallow low depression in a large meadow, 
and made a mudhole, a cattle wallow. Little boys 
have a fondness for water, when it is exposed to the 
air — that is, when it is muddy, when it is dirty — 
which is in adverse ratio to their zest for nice, clean 
water in a nice clean tub. To bathe and be clean 
does not seem instinctive with boys. And how careful 
we were not to wet the backs of our hands and our 
wrists except when in swimming! And how hard 
did our parents strive to teach us to distribute our 
ablutions more generally! 



3i8 Other Tales of Adventure 

Well, Mr. DufFy did not allow bovs to swim in his 
pond, which made it all the more inviting. It was 
a hot August day when I tirst put on those cream- 
colored pants. Naturally, we went in swimming. 
Having divested ourselves of our clothing — and with 
what joy I cast off the hideous garment! — we had to 
wade through twenty or thirty yards of mud growing 
deeper and more liquid "svith every step, until we reached 
the water. A\ e were having a great time playing in the 
ooze when Mr. Duffy appeared in sight. He was an 
irascible old man, and did not love his neighbors* 
children! He had no svmpatliy at all with us in our 
sports; he actually begrudged us the few apples we 
stole when they were unripe and scarce, and as for 
watermelons — ah, but he was an unfeeling farmer! 

Fortunately, he had no dog with him that morning, 
nothing but a gun — an old shotgun with the barrels 
sawed off at half their length, loaded with beans or 
bacon, or pepper or sand, I don't remember which — 
they were all bad enough if they hit you. The alarm 
was given instantly, and we made a vrild rush for the 
tall grass through that mud. You can fancy how 
dirty we became, splashing, stumbling, wallowing in it. 
Mr. Duffy, tiring beans at us from the rear, accelerated 
our pace to a frightful degree. Fortunately again, 
like Hamlet, he was "fat and scant o' breath," and we 
could run like deer, which we did. En route- I grabbed 
my shirt with one hand and those cream-colored pants 
with the other. 

The mud of that pond was the thick, black, sticky 
kind. It stained hideously anything light that it 
touched, as irrevocably as sin. Those trousers had 
been clasped against my boyish muddy breast or 
flapped against my muddy, skinny legs, and they were 



Being a Boy Out West 319 

a sight to behold! There was no water available for 
miles where we stopped. We rubbed ourselves off 
with the burnt grass of August and dusty leaves as 
well as we could, dressed ourselves and repaired home. 

I was a melancholy picture. The leopard could 
have changed his spots as easily as I. Yet I well 
remember the mixture of fierce joy and terrified 
apprehension that pervaded me. I arrived home 
about dinner-time. Father was there. " Wh — what!' 
he cried in astonishment. "Where have you been, 
sir?" 

"Those," sobbed my mother in anguished tones, 
"were your father's wedding trousers! I gave them 
to you with reluctance and as a great favor, you 
wretched boy, and — and — you have ruined them." 

I was taken upstairs, thoroughly washed, scrubbed 
— in the tub, which was bad enough — and when 
sufficiently clean to be handed to my father, he and I 
had an important interview in the wood-shed — our 
penal institution — over which it were well to draw 
the curtain. There was a happy result to the adven- 
ture, however: I never wore the cream-colored 
pants again, and hence my joy. The relief was almost 
worth the licking. 

Some of the material, however, was worked up into 
a patchwork quilt, and of the rest my mother made 
a jacket for my sister. My mother could not look 
upon those things without tears; neither could I! 
Why is it that grown people will be so inconsiderate 
about a little boy's clothes ? 

It was the fashion of many years before I was born 
for people — that is, men and boys — to wear shawls. 
There was a dearth in the family exchequer on one 
occasion — on many occasions, I may say, but this 



320 Other Tales of Adventure 

was a particular one, I had no overcoat, at least 
not one suitable for Sunday, and really it would have 
been preposterous to have attempted to cut down one 
of father's for me. That feat was beyond even my 
mother's facile scissors, and she could effect marvels 
with them, I knew to my cost. It was a bitter cold 
winter day, I remember, and my mother, in the kind- 
ness of her heart, brought to light one of those long, 
narrow, fringed, brilliantly colored plaided shawls, 
so that I should not miss Sunday school, I was 
perfectly willing to miss it, then or any other time, 
for any excuse was a good one for that. But no, I 
was wrapped up in it in spite of my frantic protests 
and despatched with my little sister — she who wore 
the cream-colored trousers-jacket — to the church. 
Strange to say, she did not mind at all. 

We separated outside the house door, and I ran on 
alone. I had evolved a deep, dark purpose. I 
went much more rapidly than she, and as soon as I 
turned the corner, and was safely out of sight, I tore 
off that hateful shawl and when I arrived at the meeting- 
house I ignominiously thrust it into the coal heap in 
the dilapidated shed in the corner of the lot. I was 
almost frozen by the time I arrived, but any condition 
was better than that shawl. 

The Sunday school exercises proceeded as usual, 
but in the middle of them, the janitor who had gone into 
the coal house for the wherewithal to replenish the 
fires, came back with the shawl. I had rammed it 
rather viciously under the coal, and it was a filthy 
object. The superintendent held it up by finger and 
thumb and asked to whom it belonged. 

"Why, that's our Johnny's" piped up my little sister 
amid a very disheartening roar of laughter from the 



Being a Boy Out West 321 

school. There was no use in my denying the state- 
ment. Her reputation for veracity was much higher 
than mine, and I recognized the futihty of trying to 
convince any one that she was mistaken. At the 
close of the session I had to wrap myself in that coal- 
stained garment and go forth. I was attended by a 
large delegation of the scholars when the school was 
over. They did not at all object to going far out of 
their way to escort me home, and they left me at my 
own gate. 

It was Sunday, and it was against my father's 
religious principles to lick us on Sunday — that was 
one of the compensations, youthful compensations 
of that holy day — but Monday wasn't far off, and 
father's memory was remarkably acute. Ah, those 
sad times, but there was fun in them, too, after all. 

There was a little boy who lived near us named 
Henry Smith. He and I were inseparable. He had 
a brother three years older than himself whose name 
was Charles. Charles was of course much taller and 
stronger than Henry and myself, and he could attend 
to one of us easily. But both of us together made 
a pretty good match for him. Consequently we hunted 
in couples, as it were. Charles was unduly sensitive 
about his Christian name. I think he called it his 
unchristian name. Not the "Charles" part of it, 
that was all right, but his parents had inconsiderately 
saddled him with the hopeless additional name of Peter 
Van Buskirk Smith! All we had to do to bring about 
a fight was to approach him and address him as "Peter 
Van Buskirk." He bitterly resented it, which was 
most unreasonable of him. I recall times when the 
three of us struggled in the haymow for hours at a 
time, Peter Van Buskirk, furiously angry, striving to 



322 Other Tales of Adventure 

force an apology or retraction, and Henry and I having 
a glorious time refusing him. 

We were safe enough while we were together, but 
when he caught us alone — O my! I can remember 
it yet. He was always Charles, at that time, but it 
was of no use. Yet notwithstanding the absolute 
certainty of a severe thrashing when he caught us 
singly, we never could refrain from calling him "Peter 
Van Buskirk" when we were together. 

Why is it that parents are so thoughtless about 
the naming of their children ? I knew a boy once 
named Elijah Draco and there was another lad of 
my acquaintance who struggled under the name of 
Lord Byron. That wasn't so bad, because we short- 
ened it to "By," but "Elijah Draco" was hopeless, so 
we called him "Tommy," as a rebuke to his unfeeling 
parents. 

Charles Peter Van Buskirk was a funny boy. He 
was as brave as a lion. You could pick him up by 
the ears, which were long — and shall I say handy .? — 
and he never would howl. We knew that was the 
way to tell a good dog. "Pick him up by the ears; 
an' if he howls, he'll be no fighter!" And we thought 
what was a good test for a dog could not be amiss for 
a boy. 

He had a dog once, sold to him for a quarter when it 
was a pup by a specious individual of the tramp 
variety, as one of the finest " King-Newf'un'lan' - — 
Bull Breed." His appetite and his vices were in propor- 
tion to his descriptions, but he had no virtues that 
we could discover. With a boy's lack of inventiveness 
we called him "Tiger" although anything less ferocious 
than he would be hard to find. He was more like a 
sheep in spirit than an\'thing else. But Charles thought 



Being a Boy Out West 323 

he saw signs of promise in that pup, and in spite of 
our disparaging remarks he clung to him. Charles 
knew a lot about dogs, or thought he did, which was 
the same thing. 

I remember we were trying to teach Tige to "lead" 
one day. He had no more natural aptitude for leading 
than an unbroken calf. The perverse dog at last 
flattened himself down on his stomach, spread-eagled 
himself on the ground, and stretched his four legs out 
as stiff as he could. We dragged him over the yard 
until he raised a pile of dirt and leaves in front of him 
like a plow in an untilled field. He would not "lead,'* 
although we nearly choked him to death trying to 
teach him. Then we tried picking him up by the ears, 
applying that test for courage and blood, you know! 
You might have heard that dog yelp for miles. He 
had no spirit at all. Charles Peter Van Buskirk was 
disgusted with him. 

We got out a can of wagon-grease and spotted him 
artistically to make him look like a coach-dog, which 
was legitimate, as coach-dogs are notoriously remark- 
able for lack of courage. They are only for ornament. 
That was a pretty-looking animal when it rained. We 
changed his name, too, and called him "Kitty," 
regardless of his sex. It was the last insult to a dog, 
we thought, but he never seemed to mind it. I feel 
sorry for that dog as I look back at him now, and it 
rather provoked Charles when we subsequently 
asked his opinion of any other dog. This we did as 
often as there were enough of us together to make it 
safe. 

When we felt very reckless, we used to go in swim- 
ming in the river, which was a very dangerous proceed- 
ing indeed, for the Missouri is a treacherous, wicked 



324 Other Tales of Adventure 

stream, full of "suck-holes" and whirlpools and with 
a tremendous current, especially during the June 
"rise." The practice was strictly forbidden by all 
right-minded parents, including our own. Frequently, 
however, in compliance with that mysterious sign, 
the first two fingers of the right hand up-lifted and held 
wide apart, which all boys over a thousand miles of 
country knew meant "Will you go swimming.?" we 
would make up a party after school and try the flood. 

Father usually inspected us with a rather sharper 
eye, when we came sneaking in the back way after 
such exercises. For a busy man, father had a habit, 
that was positively maddening, of happening upon a 
boy at the wrong time. We used to think we had no 
privacy at all. 

"Hum!" he was wont to say, looking suspiciously at 
our wet, sleek heads and general clean appearance — 
clean for us, that is, for the Missouri River, sandy 
though it was, was vastly cleaner than Duffy's Pond 
or puddles of that ilk — " been in swimming again, 
have you .? In the river, I'll be bound." 

Two little boys, my brother and I would choke out 
some sort of a mumbling evasion in lieu of a reply. 

" How did you get your hair wet ? " the old man would 
continue, rising and feeling two guilty little heads. 

" Per-perspiration, sir," we would gasp out faintly. 

"And that vile odor about you.? Hey.? Is that 
perspiration, too .?" sniffing the air with a grim resolu- 
tion that made our hearts sink. 

We had been smoking drift-wood, the vilest stufF 
that anybody can put in his mouth. This was enough 
to betray us. 

"It's no use, boys; you needn't say another word," 
father would add in the face of our desperate and awful 



Being a Boy Out West 325 

attempts at an adequate explanation, "You know 
what I told you. Go to the wood-shed!" 

Oh, that wood-shed! "Abandon ye all hope who enter 
here" should have been written over its door. Often 
mother would interfere — bless her tender heart! — but 
not always. Father was a small man of sedentary habits, 
not given to athletic exercises. A board across two 
barrels afforded a convenient resting-place for the arms 
and breast of the one appointed to receive the corporal 
punishment, and a barrel stave was an excellent instru- 
ment with which to administer it. I said father was 
a small, weak man. When he got through with us 
we used to think he would have made a splendid black- 
smith. Our muscles were pretty strong, and our skin 
callous — "the hand of little use hath the daintier 
touch!" — but they were as nothing to his. We 
always tired of that game before he did, although we 
played it often. 

Two of us, I recall, have carried large tubs up the 
steep bank from the river to the train at 4 a. m, on a 
summer morning, when the circus came to town. 
We were proud to be privileged to water the elephants, 
but it killed us to split wood for a day's burning in the 
kitchen stove. We never were good for anything 
except assisting the circus people, on circus day. 
School was torture, and it was generally dismissed. 

Our father was mayor of the town, and the mayor's 
children usually got in free. On one occasion we 
yielded to the solicitations of our most intimate friends 
and assembled thirty of them in a body. This group 
of children of all ages and sizes — and there was even 
one lone "nigger" in it — we were to pass through 
the gate by declaring that we were the mayor's children. 

"Great heavens!" cried the ticket man, appalled 



326 Other Tales of Adventure 

at the sight, "How many blame children has the mayor 
of the town got ? Is he a Mormon, anyway, or what ? 
An' how about that one ?" pointing to the darky. 

Father was standing near. We had not seen him. 
He turned and surveyed the multitude, including the 
black boy, that we had foisted upon him. It was a 
humorous situation, but father didn't see it that way. 
He sent all of us home with a few scathing words. 
My younger brother and I wanted to go to that circus 
more than we ever wanted to go to any circus before. 
We slept in a half-story room with windows opening 
on the porch roof. That night we climbed out on the 
roof and slid down the porch to the ground at the risk 
of breaking our necks. 

Henry and Charles met us by appointment. We 
none of us had any money and we resolved to sneak 
in, our services at watering the elephants not being 
considered worthy of a ticket. My brother and I 
got in safely under the canvas in one place, Henry 
succeeded in effecting an entrance in another, but 
Charles Peter Van Buskirk got caught. A flat board 
in the hands of a watchman made a close connection 
with his anatomy. Charles was hauled back, well 
paddled and sent home. Circuses were a tabooed sub- 
ject where he was concerned for some time thereafter. 

William, my brother, and I clambered through the 
legs of the crowd on the seats after we got into the 
canvas tent. As luck would have it, we ran right into 
the arms of our father. I was paralyzed, but William 
burst out with a boldness that savored of an inspiration, 
" Why father, you here .? I thought you were going to 
prayer-meeting." 

Everybody laughed, father said nothing; some one 
made room for us, and vv^e watched the performance 



Being a Boy Out West 327 

with mingled feelings of delight and apprehension. 
The wood-shed loomed up awfully black as we passed 
it that night. We held our breath. However, father 
never said anything to us but, "Good night, boys. 
I hope you had a good time." 

We certainly had. And we escaped the usual licking, 
deserved though it was. And it wasn't Sunday, either. 

But where was I.? O, yes! Charles Peter Van 
Buskirk one Saturday morning announced his intention 
of going on an expedition across the river. Over the 
river from where we lived was "Slab Town," dilapi- 
dated Httle settlementof no social or moral consideration. 
The old captain, the pilot of the wheezy ferry-boat 
Edgar, was our sworn friend, and allowed us to ride 
free as often as we could get away. Charles intended 
crossing the river to get pawpaws. A pawpaw is an 
easily mashed fruit, three or four inches long, with 
a tough skin inclosing a very liquid pulp full of seeds, 
and about as soHd as a cream puff, when it is dead 
ripe.. It grows on a low, stunted bush- like tree. 

We were mighty fond of pawpaws, but little fellows 
as we were didn't dare to cross the river and venture into 
"Slab Town" or its vicinity, for such an excursion 
within its territory usually provoked a fight with the 
young ruffians of that hamlet, who hated the village 
boys as aristocrats. 

"You'd better not go over there, Charles," we advised 
him timorously. "Those Slab Town boys will take 
your pawpaws away from you." 

I can see now the chesty movement with which 
Charles stuck out his breast, threw back his shoulders, 
curved inward and swung his arms, and went away 
basket in hand, remarking in a lordly manner; "Aw, 
who's goin' to take my pawpaws ? " 



328 Other Tales of Adventure 

It was evening when the rash youth returned. He 
came sKnking up the back alley in a vain endeavor 
to elude observation, but we had a number of his and 
our friends on the watch for him — to see that he 
returned safely, of course — and we gave him a royal 
greeting. We had been true prophets, though without 
honor in Charles's sight. The Slab Town boys had 
taken his pawpaw^s in a spirit of aggressive appropria- 
tion, which was bad enough, but with rare and unusual 
generosity they had afterward returned them to Charles. 
They had not put them back in his basket, however, 
but had heaped them indiscriminately upon his person. 
It appears that he must have run for miles pursued by 
a howling mob of all the ruffians over there, engaged 
in the happy pastime of throwing soft, mushy pawpaws 
at him. Charles could hardly see; in fact he could 
hardly walk. He was plastered with pawpaws from 
his head to his feet. 

Thereafter when we wanted to provoke a fight, all 
that was necessary when the unappreciated portion of 
his name was fluns: at him and was not sufficient to 
awaken his ire, w^as to throw out our chests, hold back 
our shoulders, curve our arms and say in a throaty 
voice, "Who's going to take my pawpaws ?" 

I feel tempted to use the old phrase in certain modern 
circumstances to-day when it seems to fit some bold and 
reckless endeavor. I have never forgotten Charles's 
" who's-goin'-to-take-my-pawpaws " air ! 

We were sometimes able to get a little money together 
by doing odd jobs — not for our parents, how^ever, 
but for the neighbors. We had plenty of odd jobs 
to do at home, but such work was a matter of obligation 
and not remunerative, nor was it interesting. With 
this money Henry and I each bought a game-chicken, 



Being a Boy Out West 329 

which we kept cooped up separately in the back lot 
behind the stable. Neither father nor mother knew 
anything about it, of course. 

We would let these two game-cocks out half a 
dozen times a day. They would rush at each other 
fiercely, but before the battle was fairly on, we would 
summarily part them, and put them back in their 
coops, which were placed opposite each other, when 
they would indulge in chicken-swearing and personal- 
ities as much as they desired. Their appetites for 
fighting were whetted indeed. In fact, there was so 
much animosity engendered between these two birds 
that they would rush together like two express trains 
trying to pass each other on the same track whenever 
they were turned loose. There was no time sparring 
for time or position. It was fight from the moment 
they saw each other, although we never let them 
strike more than one blow or two. A half-minute 
round was enough for us. I think it really scared us. 

Charles, in spirit of revenge, let them out one day 
during our absence. When we got back from school 
we had only one chicken between us. It was a wonder- 
ful chicken, for it had beaten the other, although the 
conquered bird had fought until it had been killed. 
We burned him on a funeral pyre as a dead gladiator, 
with much ceremony and boyish speaking. We wanted 
to sacrifice to his manes a hen as his wife, but finally 
concluded to abandon that part of the ceremony; 
mother kept count of the hens, you see. 

Of course, Julius Caesar (as we named him) had the 
run of the yard thereafter, there being no one to 
oppose him. He led a very peaceful life until our 
next door neighbor bought a large Shanghai rooster. 
I forgot now what particular breed our rooster was, 



330 Other Tales of Adventure 

hut he was small, not much hirgcr than a l)antam. 
The Shanghai rooster, which was a huge monster, had 
the most provoking crow, hirgc, Ifjiid and aggressive. 
An alley intervened hetween the yard where he held 
forth and our yard. One day we came home from 
school and lf)ol<ed ff)r our chicken, lie was gone! 

We hunted everywhere fcjr him, hut could not find 
him. We missed the crowing of the Shanghai rooster, 
which had heen frecjuent and exasperating, I have 
no douht. 'i'he yard was very silent. We pursiu-d our 
investigations with /eal and finally reached the alley. 
It had heen raining heavily for almost a week, and the 
alley was a mass of hlack, sticky mud. CJa/,ing anx- 
iously over the fence, we heard a feehle chir|) from a 
large goh of mud in the alley. It was our rooster! 

'Ihe Shanghai had rashly ventured into supposed 
neutral ground in that alley and had crowed once 
too r)ft(;n. The little game cock had scjuee/ed through 
th(- fence and coriH- over to investigate the situation. 
'Ihey had fought there in fh(- mud. The mud was too 
deep for the Shanghai to lun and the bantam killed 
him. During the hattle iIk- victor had become so 
covered with nuid that he could neith( r inove nor crow 
nor .sec. lie was in a worse state than Charles with the 
pawpaws, and indifferent to honors. 

We took him and washed him. lie seemed none 
the worse for his adventure, but that battle must have 
been a royal one. It was the second on(- we had not 
seen! We felt like the Roman public deprived of its 
"Circmses." We really never did see that chicken 
fight, for he got the pip or something, a few days after, 
perhaps from the microbes in the alley, and in spite 
of our careful nursing, or possibly because of it, he 
died. He died just in time, too, for after we had put 



Being a Boy Out West 331 

him away with more ceremony than we had used before, 
father who had got some inkUng ot the afFair, suddenly 
broke out at supper: "Boys, are you keeping game- 
cocks in the back lot? Figliting-ehickens, eh?" 

"No, sir," we both answered meekly, with a clear 
conscience and a steady eye. 

We had lots of pets in those days; some time they may 
serve for another story. 



THE KND 



INDEX 



INDEX 



A 



ABANCAY, battle of, 102. 
Ada, Spanish settlement, 
45-49 
Aguilar, Geronimo de, 
122 
Alcantara, Martin de, 54, 106, 107 
Alderete, the King's Treasurer, 

205-212 
Alfred, the, Jones's first ship, 283 
Almagrists, the, 106, 11 1 
Almagro, Diego de, 57-67; 88-93; 
101-104; 107 
Diego, the son, 104, 108, 109 
Alvarado, Pedro de, called Tona- 
tiuh, 102, 109, 174, 184, 186, 
187, 194 
Amazon River, 105 
America, Central, 3 
South, 3, 4, 18, 27 
Anahuac, Empire of, 125 
Andalusia, New, 7 
Antigua del Darien, Maria de la, 

20, 23-27; 33-41 
Arbolancha, 42 
Arguello, the notary, 48, 49 
Arrows, poisoned, used by Indians, 

10, II, 13, 14 
Astor, John Jacob, 261-272 

Fur Trading Company, 262 
Astoria, 262-276 
Atahualpa, 71-92; 108 
Avila, Pedro Arias de, called 
Pedrarias, 32-35; 42-50; 56 
Ayxacatl, 169, 176 



Aztec Empire, 115, 116, 125, 132 
Holy of Holies, 134 
wealth, 135 
last of the Kings, 219 
Aztecs, the, 69, 116, 125-130; 133, 
176, 182-187; 194-198; 215- 
219 



B 



r> ADAJOZ, 53 
-'-' Bahamas, the, 



Balboa, Vasco Nufiez de, accom- 
panies Encisco to San Sebas- 
tian, 19 
placed in charge at Antigua, 20 
seeks to serve Nicuesa, 25 
further adventures, 31-50 
referred to, 107 

Barron, James, 251, 252 

Bastidas, an explorer, 5 

"Battery of the Fearless," referred 
to, 74 (footnote) 

Bay, Chesapeake, 4 

Bentham, Jeremy, 248 

Biddle, Major Thomas, 255 

Biru, land of, early name of Peru, 

chieftain named, 56 
Bonhomme Richard, the, 285, 286 
Bowie, James, 252-254 

knives, 253 
Brackett, Charles, 305 
Broderick, Senator, 256-258 
Buccaneers, the, 3 
Burr, Aaron, 248 



335 



33^- 



Index 



pABOT, JOHN, 4 

^ Cabral,Portuguese explorer, 5 

Caceres, 53 

Cacique, Indian, Caonabo, 6 

Cemaco, 20 

Careta, of Cueva, 36 

Comagre, 37, 56 

of Tenepal, 115 

Monteczuma, so called in Cor- 
tes's letter, 156 

Quahpopoca, 172 

of Tlacuba, 216 
Cannibalism universal among Az- 
tecs, 126 
Capac, Manco, 68, 85, 92, 93, 95, 
III, 112 

Huayna, 71, 108 
Cape, de la Vela, 7 

Gracias aDios, 7 
Careta, Cacique of Cueva, 36 
Caribbean Sea, 3, 13 
Carrero, Alonzo de Puerto, 123 
Cartagena, 10, 18 
Carvajal, 109-111 
Castile, Golden, 8 

King of, 40 

Joanna of, 41 
Castro, Vaca de, 109 
Caverns, Infernal, of Pitt River, 31 1 
Caxamarca, massacre of, 73-85 
Cempoalla, town of, 135 

Cacique of, 135 

people of, 135, 166 
Central America, 3 
Chalcuchimo, 72, 85, 92 
Chapus, field of, 109 
Charles V., of Spain, 82, 88, 92, 95, 

109, 137, 147,217,218,220 
Chase, Ov\ren, mate of the Essex, 

231 
Chaves, Francisco de, 106 
Chesapeake, Bay, 4 

American ship, 251 



Chili, Almagro goes to, 93 

Valdivia partially conquers, log 
Men of, 102-107 
coast of, 231, 237 
Cholula, 140, 145, 146 
Cholulans, the, 145, 146, 194 
Cilley, Jonathan, 255, 256 
Cipango, referred to, 37 
Claverhouse, compared with Cor- 
tes, 120 
Coatzacualco, Province of, 115 
Colmenares, Rodrigo de, 23 
Columbus, Christopher, 4, 5, 6, 23, 

37, "7. 132 
Diego, 9, 35 

Comagre, Indian chief, 37, 56 

Conception, a whaling ground, 231 

Cordova, Gonsalvo de, 117 

Cortes, Hernando (or Fernando), 
mentioned, 9, 75, 107; lands 
at Vera Cruz, 116; story of his 
birth and early life, 117; voy- 
age to Santo Domingo and 
Cuba, 118; described by Helps 
and Diaz, 118-120; expedi- 
tion to Mexico, 120-125; 
march to Tenochtitlan, 130; 
personal character of, 133; 
describes Tlascala, 138-140; 
massacres Cholulans, 145, 
146; describes Mexico, 147- 
162; meets Montezuma, 162- 
167; seizes the Emperor, 171- 
173; Mexico rebels against, 
175; attacks Mexico, 192-218; 
the end of, 218-223; descrip- 
tions of, 223-228 

Cosa, Juan de la, 4, 5, 7, 10, 12 

Costa Rica, 21 

Coya, the Inca's legal wife, 72 

Crook, George, 301-31 1 

Crozier, William, captain of the 
brig Indian, 240 

Cuba, 3, 16, 55, 120 

Cueyabos, 16 



Inde 



X 



337 



Cuitlahua, 136, 176, 191 

Cuzco, 75, 85, 87, 92, 93, 102-111 



D 



T^ARIEN, Isthmus of, 5, 26, 32, 

-^^ 37,55,109 

Maria de la Antigua del, 20, 

23-27; 33741 
Quevedo, Bishop of, 33, 44 
Dauphin, Nantucket Whaler, 

242 
Davila, another name for Pedra- 

rias, 32 (footnote) 
De Candia, 66, 73, 79, 104, 109 
Decatur, Stephen, 251, 252 
De Soto, Hernando, 33; 67, 68; 

77-89; 107 
Despotism, communistic, form of 

government on South Amer- 
ican coast, 68 
Diaz, Bernal, iig, 124, 134, 135, 

167, 179 (footnote), 223, 224, 

225 
Porfirio, 224 
Dickinson, Charles, 248-250 
Dios, Nombre de, 23, 36 
Disappointment, Cape, 269, 270 
Duras, Due de, an East Indiaman, 

285 



E 



pL DORADO, 9, 57, 59, 93 

■^-^ El Galan, nickname of Pe- 

drarias, 33 
El Justador, nickname of Pedrar- 

ias, 33 
Encisco, 8; 17-20; 31, 32; 42, 66 
English, their first appearance on 

the South American coast, 5 
Espinosa, 33, 48, 60 
Esquivel, Juan de, 9 



Essex, the whaleship, 231-242 
Estremadura, birthplace of the 
Pizarros, 53 
birthplace of Cortes, 117 



tpELIPPO, the interpreter, 82, 

89,90 
Ferdinand, King, of Spain, 5, 7, 

^^ 
Fiske, John, 4, 43, 63 (footnote), 

122, 125, 168, 226 
Florida, 4 

Fonseca, Bishop, 7, ;^^ 
Fox, Ebenezer, 268, 269 
"Furor Domini," name given to 

Pedrarias, 43 



/^ALLO, Island of, 62 
^^ Garavito, Andres, 47 
Gasca, 110-112 
Golden Castile, 8 
Gonzales, Francisca, 54 
Gorgona, Island of, 63 
Graves, William J., 255, 256 
Grijilva, Juan de, 120 
Guatemoc ( or Guatemotzin ), 
^il, 177, 191, 193, 194, 216, 
225 
Guatemotzin, popular name for 

Guatemoc, 191, 216 
Guayaquil, Gulf of, 67 
Gulf, of Mexico, 3 

explorations on, coast, 5 

of Darien, 5, 20, 55 

of Uraba, 7' 

of Venezuela, 7 

of San Miguel, 56 

of Guayaquil, 67 
Guzman, Tello de, 50 



338 



Index 



H 

HAMILTON, ALEXANDER, 
248 
Helps, Sir Arthur, the "historian, 

referred to, 63 (footnote), 70, 

78, 118, 124, 178, 188, 220, 

224 
Herrera, referred to, 179 (footnote) 
Honduras, 4, 5, 8, 13, 219 
Hopkins, Sterling A., 257 
Horn, Cape, 266 
Horses introduced to the natives 

of South America, 13 
Huarina, battlefield of, no 
Huascar, son of Huayna, 72, 85, 

108 
Huitzilopochtli, Aztec god of war, 

126, 127, 184 



INCA, the young, Manco Capac, 
68 
the. Empire, 69 
civilization, 69 
"Child of the Sun," 71 
Pizarro's capture of the, 75-84, 
ransom and murder of the, 85-92 
and Peruvians strike for free- 
dom, 93-102 
Incas, the, 69-112 
Independencf, the, privateer, 284 
Indian, the brig, of London, 240 
Indian wife, Balboa's, 37, 44, 47, 

Indians, Warm Spring, 302-306 

Indies, the, 7, 8, 10 

Isabella, Queen, and her court 

mentioned, 6 
Island, of Gallo, the, 62, 63 (foot- 
note) 
of Gorgona, the, 63 
of Puna, 67 



Island, St. Mary's, 231, 242 

Ducie, 239, 242 

of Massafera, 240 
Islands, Society, 237 

Sandwich, 237, 267 

Cape Verde, 264 

Falkland, 265 

Vancouver, 271 
Isles of Pearls, 59 
Isthmus, of Darien, 5, 26, 32, ■^'j, 
109, 116 

of Panama, 5, 27, 50, no 
Ixlilxochitl, referred to, 179 (foot- 
note) 
Ixtaccihuatl, 144 
Iztatapalan, 195 



JACKSON, ANDREW, 248-250 

*^ Jamaica, 8, 17 

Jones, John Paul, 281-297 
William Paul, 290-295 
Mrs. Willie, 290, 296 
Colonel Cadwallader, 296 

Joy, Matthew, mate of the Essex, 
231, 239 

Juarez, Benito, 224 



K 



TZ-ING, JOHN II. of France, re- 
■*•*■ ferred to, 86 (footnote) 
Kirk, referred to, 63 (footnote) 



J EOPARD, British ship, 251 
-*-' Lepe, an explorer, 5 
Lewis, James, 263-277 
Lima, 93, 98, loi, 105, III 



Ind 



ex 



339 



Lorenzana, Archbishop, referred 

to, ig8 (footnote) 
Louden, Mary Paul, sister of John 

Paul Jones, zgi 
Luque, 60-67 
Lyons, James, 305 



M 

TV/fcKAY, 262-277 

^^ MacNutt, referred to, 128, 
225 

Maddox, Dr., 252 

Madigan, John, 307-311 

Magellan, referred to, 39 (foot- 
note), 61 (footnote) 
Straits of, 109 

Main, the Spanish, 3, 5 

Malinal (or Marina) 115, 116; 123- 
.125; 135, 145, 219 

Malinche, shorter form of Malin- 
tzin, 124, 208, 209, 217 

Malintzin, Aztec name for Cortes, 
124 

Marco Polo, referred to, 37 

Maria, Donna, daughter of Cortes, 

Marina, Malinal, baptized as, 124 
Markham, referred to, 4, 63 (foot- 
note), 78, 87 
Massacre of Caxamarca, 73-85 
Maxixcatzin, 141 
Mayas, the, 122 

Medellin, native city of Cortes, 117 
Mexico, the Gulf of, 3,116 

the country of, 53, 127 

Aztec Empire of, 115, 125 

shores of, 117 

City of, 125, 137, 146-162 

Republic of, 126, 224 

valley of, 144, 218 

King of, 217 
Mexitl, one of the names of Aztec 

war god, 126 



Montezuma Xocoyotzm, Emperor 
of Mexico, 115; sends mes- 
sengers to Cortes, 135, 137; 
described, 136, 137; and the 
Tlascalans, 140, 141; agrees 
to receive Cortes, 143; meet- 
ing with Cortes, 162-168; 
seizure of, 1 71-173; deposed, 
176; end of, 178-180 



N 

XTAPOLEON at Toulon, re- 
-^ ^ ferred to, 74 (footnote) 
Narvaez, Panfilo de, 174, 175 
Navigators, the fifteenth-century, 4 
New Andalusia, 7 
Newity, Nootka village, 271 
Nicuesa, Diego de, 3, 5, 8, 20, 

27 
Nombre de Dios, 23, 36 
Nootkas, the 271 







Q JEDA,ALONZA DE,3;heads 

^-^ first important expedition 
along South American coast, 
4; second voyage, 5; arrives 
at Santo Domingo, 8; adven- 
tures of, 10-19; referred to, 55 

Olano, Lope de, 21, 22, 24 

Ordaz, 144 

Orellano, commander under Gon- 
zalo Pizarro, 105 

Orgonez, 102, 103 

Orinoco, the, 4 

Otumba, valley of, 191 

Otumies, tribe of, 141 

Ovando, an explorer with Nicuesa, 

. 7 
Oviedo, quoted, 56, 57, 179 (foot- 
note) 



340 



Index 



PACIFIC, the, so called by 
■■• Magellan, 39 (footnote) 

discovery of, 39-42 

Balboa reaches, 45 
Painala, town of, 115 

Lord of, 115 
Panama, Pedrarias dies at, 50 

Pedrarias the founder and gov- 
ernor of, 56 

Pizarro living in, 57 

Pizarro sends ship to, 62 

Pedro de los Rios, governor of, 
62 

referred to, 63, 65, 66 

States, 116 
Parnell, W. R., 306-311 
"Pearl Coast," the, 4 
Pedrarias, 32-35; 42-50; 107 
Perez, Gomez, III, 112 
Peru, 40, 53, 63, 64, 66, 68, 93, 95, 

105, 109, 237 
Peruvians, the, 69-102 
Pettis, Congressman Spencer, 255 
Philip II. 65 
Pizarrists, the, 106 
Pizarro, Francisco, 9, 16, 18, 38- 
40; 48, 54, 55-107 

Hernando, 54, 55, 67, 79, 93, 
96-108 

Juan, 54, 96-99 

Gonzalo, the father, 53, 54 

Gonzalo, the son, 54, 96-101 

Pedro, 90 
Pizarros, the, 46, 67, 96, 104, 105, 

108-110 
Pizons, the, explorers, 5 
Pollard, James, captain of the 

Essex, 231 
Popocatepetl, 144 
Popotla, 190 
Porto Rico, 5 

Potosi, the mines of, 65, 109, 
no 



Prescott, the historian, referred to, 
63 (footnote) 

reference to account of Inca civi- 
lization by, 69 

reference to amount of Inca's 
ransom, according to, 87 



G 



QUAREQUA, Indian chief, 39 
Quetzalcoatl, Toltec god, 
129, 136 
Quevedo, Bishop of Darien, ^^ 
Quichua, the language of Peru, 82 
Quinones, Antonio de, 202 
Quito, 71, 91, 105, 109 
Quiz-Quiz, 72, 85 



R 



■n ADA, JUAN DE, 105-112 
■■■^ Ranger, the, one of Jones's 

ships, 284 
Ribero, Diego de, 21, 22 
Rios, Pedro de los, 62, 65 
Ruiz, 60-63 (and footnote), 65, 66 



CACSAHUAMAN, 94, 97-99 

^ Salamanca, University of, 117 

Salinas, the plains of, 103 

San Mateo, 67 

San Miguel, 41, 56, 73 

San Sebastian, 14, 16, 17, 19 

Santiago River, 66 

Santo Domingo, 8, 14, 19, 118 

"Scourge of God," the, name 

given to Pedrarias, 43 
Sea, Caribbean, 3 
Sea of the South, so called by 

Balboa, 39 



Index 



341 



Serapis, the battle with the, 285- 

287 
Shoshone nation, 301-304 
Slavery, human, introduced into 

Peru by Christians, 95 
South Sea, the, so called by Balboa, 

39 

voyage, 44 

Pizarro's first sight of, 56 
Spanish, Main, the, 3, 5 

Court, the, 6, 7 

rule in Mexico, 226 

in Peru, 226 
" Starvation Harbor," 58, 59 



nrABASCANS,the, ii6,'i23, 134 
■*- Tabasco, 122 
Tacuba, 190, 199, 206, 216 
Tafur, Pedro, 62-65 
Talavera, 16, 17 
Temixtitan, name for Mexico, 147, 

148, 162 
Temple of the Sun, at Cuzco, 87 
Tenochtitlan, or City of Mexico, 

125 
the march to, 130-137 
Teocalli, 145 

Terry, Ex-chief Justice, 256-258 
Teules, Aztec name for Cortes and 

his followers, 136 
Texcoco, 136 

Tezcatlipoca, Aztec god, 127 
Tezcocans, the, 194 
Tezcoco, province of, 194; lake of, 

195 
Thorn, Jonathan, 261-275 
Tianguizco, 199 
Tlacopan, 128 

Tlaloc, Aztec god of waters, 126 
Tlaltelulco, 199 

Tlascala, 136, 138-140, 141, 190- 
192 



Tlascalans, the, 140-144, 166, 191- 

219 
Toltecs, the, 125, 129, 130 
Tonqutn, the ship, 261-277 
Toparca, 92 

Torquemada, referred to, 179 (foot- 
note) 
Totonacs, the, 136 
Toulon, Napoleon at, 74 (footnote) 
Treasure, the, of Peru, 64 
Trujillo, 53, 66 
Tumbez, town of, 65 

Almagro made Governor of, 66 

Pizarro lands at, 68 



V 



TJRABA,Gulfof, 7 



F 



VTALDIVIA,. lieutenant of Fran- 
" cisco Pizarro, 31, 109 

Valparaiso, 240, 242 

Valsa, the river, 45 

Valverde, Fra Vincente de, 80-83; 
90, 91, III 

Vega, Garcilasso de la, 63 (foot- 
note) 

Vela, Blasco Nunez, 109 

Velasquez, Diego de, 118-121; 131 
Juan, 183-186 

Venezuela, Gulf of, 7 

Veragua, 5, 13, 27 

Vera Cruz, 116, 130, 134, 135 

Vespucci, Amerigo, 4 



, fF 
"^XTALLACE, Lew, quoted, 131, 
Weeks, Armorer, 269-277 



342 



Index 



Wells, Samuel, 252 
Winsor, 4 



X 



VAQUIXAGUANA, valley of, 

-^ no. III 

Xicalango, traders of, 116 
Xicotencatl, 1 41-143 
Xuaca, 85 



YUCATAN coast, 122 
Yucay, mountains of, 100 



2AMUDIO,2o,3i,32,35.38 



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